Qantas’ new Australia-Dallas, Texas route is under further evaluation after a jumbo jet unexpectedly ran low on fuel trying to make the non-stop leg to Brisbane yesterday.

Thomas Woodward, Qantas’ spokesman accounted that the Boeing 747-400ER had an unforeseen landing in Noumea where it filled up its tank due to strong headwinds it encountered after leaving US.

"They [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 lead to a two-hour delay getting into Brisbane," said Woodward.

Woodward furthered that headwinds in May have been "unseasonably strong".

The new non-stop route between Australia and Texas, which is one of the longest non-stop routes in the world and the longest flown by 747s, started two weeks ago. Qantas understood it was stretching the range of the Boeing 747-400ERs to make the 13,816-kilometre trip.

In a report, the Sydney Morning Herald said, 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. Returning back to Australia the planes take 16 hours and are scheduled to arrive in Brisbane first for refueling, as headwinds increase fuel consumption and shorten the airliner's range, before heading for Sydney.

On the assessment of the new route, Woodward expressed, "We're a few weeks into the new route and we'll keep monitoring it. We're gaining as much operational experience and getting as much data as we can from the flights but it's too early to draw any conclusions. If it becomes an ongoing issue, we'll obviously look at ways of addressing it."