Prepare yourself for a long flight when you're making the trip from the United States to Australia. The average flight time is between 15 and 20 hours, and that's when you leave directly from the west coast of the U.S. Take the time to compare fares and flight times for your trip. Choose Qantas Airlines or Virgin Australia if you want to use an Australian airline. Otherwise, you can fly on a U.S. airline or an international carrier.
The Australian airline Qantas leaves the U.S. from Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. If you're flying from any other city, you'll need to connect through one of those points of departure. From Los Angeles, Qantas flies to Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne. There is one direct flight from Los Angeles to Sydney which leaves every night at 10 p.m. and arrives two days later at 6 a.m.
Virgin Australia joined the ranks of airlines flying between the U.S. and Australia in 2000. Flights departing from U.S. cities connect in Los Angeles for the trip to Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney. Once in Australia, you can take a Virgin Australia flight to any other city in the country. The airline has become a frequent flier domestically in Australia.
U.S. airlines making the trip from the States to destinations in Australia include Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines. U.S. airlines leave from Los Angeles and San Francisco and arrive in Sydney and Melbourne. Jetstar from Honolulu or Hawaiian Airlines also fly into Sydney and Brisbane. Get to Hawaii from any west coast city in the U.S., including Seattle, Portland, Oakland, San Francisco or Los Angeles.
International airlines which fly to Australia include Singapore Airlines, Emirates Air, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Air China, Qatar Airways, Fiji Airways, Air India, LAN Airlines and Philippine Airlines. Most airlines depart from Los Angeles.
