By becoming the first airline to operate non-stop services between Australia and South America, Qantas has set a milestone in the history of commercial aviation. The inaugural Sydney to Buenos Aires flight left Sydney at 10:50 am yesterday.

“Argentina is a popular destination for Australian travellers and we are seeing continued passenger growth between Australia and South America,” said Rob Gurney, the Australian airline’s Sales and Distribution group general manager. “These new services will enable us to grow business and leisure travel to and from Argentina and strengthen tourism and trade links,” he added. “They will also offer passengers connections to other destinations in South America, including Brazil.”

According to Qantas, response to the new Buenos Aires services had been very positive. The airline said it will operate three return services per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using three-class B747-400 aircraft. Qantas previously offered one-stop services to Buenos Aires, via Auckland, between 1998 and 2002.

“We have maintained services to South America via our successful codeshare with oneworld partner LAN since then and will continue to offer six services per week from Sydney via Auckland to Santiago, Chile,” Gurney added.