1965 - First Direct Flight from the United States to Sydney

Source: Anon. 1965. "End of the big hop". The Daily Telegraph, March 9: 17. 

Did you know that this month is sixty years since the first non-stop flight by a commercial jet from the United States to Australia? It was now possible for Australians to fly from Australia to the United States and vice versa without having to stop en route in either direction. It wold mark a significant milestone for Australian aviation

The first non-stop flight did not carry passengers. It was a delivery flight for Qantas who were accepting delivery of a Boeing 707 jet, named the City of Townsville.

To save petrol, the jet was towed to the runway at San Francisco International Airport, where it departed on March 6 1965. Due to crossing the international dateline (adding one day heading west), it landed at Sydney Airport on March 8 1965.

Flight time was 14 hours and 32 minutes, impressive when compared with the 13 hours and 20 minutes used by more prominent and more advanced jets. 

In 2025, flight times (non-stop) to American Cities flying from Sydney Airport are as follows.

Sydney - San Francisco:              13h, 20 min

Sydney - Los Angeles:                 13 h, 40 min

Sydney - Dallas:                           15 hours

Sydney - Houston:                        15 h, 35 min

Qantas introduced non-stop flights from Sydney to Los Angeles in 1984. when Boeing 747 jets could carry a full load of passengers across the Pacific without stopping. They had to use a smaller variant (747SP) which was designed to cover greater distances than other 747 jets operating at the time. 

 

Source: Anon. 1965. "First Flight Non-stop Over Pacific". The Sydney Morning Herald, March 10: 8.