Ms Hodgkinson said the new service, secured with the support of the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government, is the world’s longest route and will operate six times per week.

“Securing a direct A380 service delivers on a key recommendation of the NSW Government’s Visitor Economy Industry Action Plan,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The non-stop service from Dallas/Fort Worth means passengers will arrive in Sydney sooner, allowing them more time to enjoy our pristine beaches, vibrant events and rural and regional NSW’s outstanding food and wine experiences.

“To build awareness of the new direct service, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, has worked with Qantas to develop an integrated marketing campaign to attract visitors from America.

“The United States is one of our top five key inbound visitor markets. In the past financial year 317,000 visitors from the US contributed about $546 million into the State’s economy, so the more we can do to encourage them to visit Sydney and NSW the better.”

Ms Hodgkinson said securing the A380 service will increase passenger capacity and is expected to deliver almost 13,700 additional visitors to Sydney and NSW each year, according to figures from Sydney Airport.

“The NSW Government is proud to have secured this A380 service for Sydney in the face of strong competition from other Australian cities,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The direct A380 service will contribute to our goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure in NSW; with extra capacity estimated to deliver about $25 million in additional visitor spend in the State each year.”

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