For the first time since August, American Airlines has resumed service in Australia, with the first LA-Sydney flight landing on Thursday morning.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took off from LAX at 11:02 p.m. local time on Tuesday, January 4th, for the first time in 128 days on a 14.5-hour journey over the Pacific Ocean.
The plane, with the registration N835AN, arrived into Sydney Kingsford Smith International at 8:40 a.m. on Thursday, slightly ahead of schedule.
Flight AA72 from Sydney to LAX departed Sydney at 11:43 a.m. on Thursday, January 6th, and is due to arrive in California about 5:40 a.m.
For the time being, the airline will maintain a daily schedule of one return flight between LAX and Sydney.
The carrier, which is the world’s largest in terms of passenger carriage and fleet size, completely exited the Australian market at the end of August, after the Australian government halved arrival restrictions in attempt to combat the country’s then-raging COVID-19 outbreak.