Australia Is A Hot Destination
Even as visits to the U.S. by Australians—and many other foreigners—drop in the current political climate, on the flip side, more and more Americans are heading Down Under. Along with a few other emerging global hotspots like Mexico and Japan, which I wrote about here recently at Forbes, outbound travel to Australia has been growing fast, with an 8% year over year increase from April 2024 to April 2025. In the time, the U.S. moved up to become the third largest foreign market for tourism to Australia, with 711,000 travelers. The trend began before the pandemic, and 2019 was the all-time record year before travel dropped off a cliff with COVID-19, but things picked up right where it left off, and trips more than doubled from 2022 to 2023 and are again approaching the all-time peak. One reason is more airlift, and that is going to continue, as four different airlines add new non-stop flights from the U.S. to Australia in the near future.
A strong dollar has greatly helped Ameircans travelling internationally in the past several years, thought it has weakened in most places in the past several months amid tariff turmoil and economic uncertainty. Still, while the exchange rate is down from recent highs, it remains near the highest peaks it hit in the last five years, and up about 20% from its 2021 low.
Why Visit Australia?
Australia a big country with a lot worth seeing. I have been several times, to the major cities, to wine country, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, to the red center of Alice Springs, and several times for golf, as Australia is a world class golf destination. This is especially true of Melbourne, a Bucket List trip, though there are also great courses in Syndey, Canberra and Tasmania. It is a huge destination for sports fans, between the Australian Open grand slam tennis tournament, the unbelievably big Melbourne Cup horse race, F1 and many other international sporting events. Great Hiking, cycling, diving, and just about every kind of water sport and outdoor adventure can be found here. Culture abounds, from world class museum to Sydney’s famous Opera House. Producing just about every kind of meat and plant that can be raised and sitting at the intersection of Western and Pacific Rim cuisine, the food scene is off the charts, while Australia is one of the world’s greatest wine producers. An excellent national tourism website can help you plan your trip.
In short, whether you want to be active, enjoy urban bliss, hit the beach or just sit back and watch, there’s something for everyone. But at the time I was traveling more regularly to Australia, back in the 1990s and early 2000s, the main flight choices were Sydney or Melbourne, usually via Los Angeles, and that has changed immensely. With the four new non-stops being added, all between December and January—peak summer season in Australia—you will be able to fly to four different Australian cities non-stop from five U.S. airports.
Existing Flight Options
Before the new flights there were around 20 routes between the U.S. and three Australian cities Australia served by six carriers, with Qantas having the most airlift, followed by United, a situation that remains unchanged after the four new flights, with each of these carriers and American and Delta adding one.
Qantas already flies Dallas to Melbourne; Los Angeles to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane; San Francisco to Sydney and Honolulu to Syndey. Qantas and American are in the Oneworld Alliance.
United flies San Francisco to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane; Los Angeles to Melbourne and Sydney; and Houston to Sydney. United is in Star Alliance, which I believe is the best consortium.
Delta flies from Los Angeles to both Sydney and Brisbane, and is in Sky Team, while American Airlines flies Dallas to Brisbane and Los Angeles to Sydney. Hawaiian has just one flight, from Honolulu to Sydney, and low cost carrier JetStar, a subsidiary of Qantas, also flies from Honolulu to both Sydney and Melbourne.
New Non-Stop Flights From The U.S. To Australia
The new non-stop flights from the U.S. to Australia are all rolling out in an eight week period at the end of the year. In order of their debut, these include:
American Airlines: Los Angeles (LAX) → Brisbane (BNE) launching on December 5, 2025
Delta: Los Angeles (LAX) → Melbourne (MEL) launching in December 2025
United: San Francisco (SFO) → Adelaide (ADL) launching on December 11, 2025
Qantas: Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) → Sydney (SYD) launching in January 2026
While Qantas, American and Delta replicate routes competitors already offer, the most notable is United and the addition of an entirely new city with first non-stop service to Adelaide, Australia’s fifth largest city. Adelaide is one of the most enjoyable, full of museums, galleries and amazing cuisine, and is the gateway to the famed Barossa Valley wine region, less than an hour away. The Qanats flight from Dallas is also big as this is a major hub for American/Oneworld.