Meanings
plural kangaroo routes · alternative Kangaroo route · alternative Kangaroo Route
- lifestyleAn air route between the United Kingdom and Australia via Asia, especially that route flown by Qantas.
The old first class in the nose of the aircraft has become a sleeperette area for sixteen premium class passengers who pay ten per cent above the first class price on the Kangaroo route.
1980, International Aeronautic Federation, Interavia, volume 35, page 9352 more examples
1982, Royal Aeronautical Society. Australian Division, Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia, Aircraft, Volumes 62-63, page 26, Rolls-Royce hate to have Qantas Kangaroo Route passengers saying they never fly in the RB211-powered 747s, because these are used almost exclusively on the Pacific routes.
As the 1950s ended Qantas and BOAC saw their comfortable hold on the Kangaroo route changed forever with the emergence of Air India and India′s demand for participation in their pooling arrangement.
2010, John Gunn, Crowded Skies: Qantas 1971-1989, page 109
Origin
From kangaroo (“marsupial associated with Australia and with Qantas”) + route; a registered trademark of Qantas.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
kangaroo route. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kangaroo%20route
“kangaroo route.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kangaroo%20route. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kangaroo route,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kangaroo%20route.
Source: kangaroo route on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.