QANTAS is said to be assessing the operation its new Australia--Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas, route after a Boeing 747 ran low on fuel trying to make the non-stop leg to Brisbane yesterday and had to land on the Pacific island of Noumea for fuel. The 747 battled stronger than expected headwinds after leaving the US. A Qantas spokesman said: "The Pilots made a decision that it was better, as a precaution, to divert to Noumea and take more fuel on board, rather than continuing. As a result, they had to divert to Noumea to refuel, which led to a 2 hour delay getting into Brisbane". Headwinds in May have been "unseasonably strong", he said. Qantas began flying the non-stop route between Australia and Dallas/Ft Worth only 2 weeks ago. The carrier knew it was stretching the range of the Boeing 747-400ERs to make the 13816km trip, one of the longest nonstop routes in the world and the longest flown by 747s. The outward leg to the US leaves Sydney and makes the journey, with the assistance of tail winds, direct in 15 hours and 25 minutes. But coming back to Australia the flight takes 16 hours and is scheduled to arrive in Brisbane 1st for refuelling, before heading for Sydney.The Dallas route is said to be the new jewel in Qantas' network and bolsters its alliance with AMERICAN AIRLINES, but the incident has Qantas looking closely at how the route will operate in to the future. The carrier said it will continue to monitor the route and make any necessary changes. Just 2 weeks ago, a Qantas A380 flying from Singapore to Melbourne on May 17, had to divert to Adelaide after Pilots calculated the plane was running low on fuel. That incident was also blamed on strong headwinds.
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