A Qantas Airbus A380 chartered to carry the San Francisco 49ers to Australia has arrived in San Francisco ahead of the NFL team’s historic regular-season game against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne.
Flight AF6001 touched down at 6.26pm local time on Wednesday, September 2, after travelling from Los Angeles. The aircraft is expected to leave for Melbourne within hours, carrying the 49ers ahead of the fixture at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, September 11.
The game will be the NFL’s first regular-season match in Australia. Kick-off is scheduled for 10.35am local time, with the contest to be streamed live on Netflix.
The aircraft, an A380 with the registration VH-OQD, has 14 first-class seats and 70 business-class seats. It has also been specially stocked with larger-sized pyjamas for the long-haul journey.
With an NFL roster consisting of 53 players, the superjumbo’s spacious configuration is expected to provide room for the team and its travelling party during the flight to Melbourne.
The Los Angeles Rams are understood to be due to arrive in Melbourne the day before the match.
Qantas has declined to comment on the charter flight. The airline announced in April that it had become the NFL’s official airline partner in Australia and New Zealand, and is also promoting itself as the official airline partner of the 2026 NFL Melbourne game.
