As Australia’s longest serving airline, Qantas has many aviation firsts firmly tucked under its wing. Adding to the growing list is the new non-stop flight between Australia and London.
Slotted to begin March, 2018, the new 787 Dreamliner route between Perth and London will be one of the longest in the world, clocking in at around 17-hours and reaching 14,498 kilometres across the globe, non-stop.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the history-making route would be a watershed for travel, tourism and trade.
“When Qantas created the Kangaroo Route to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops. Now it will take just 17 hours from Perth non-stop.
“This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft. Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge.
“It’s great news for travellers because it will make it easier to get to London. It’s great news for Western Australia because it will bring jobs and tourism. And it’s great news for the nation, because it will bring us closer to one of our biggest trade partners and sources of visitors.”
Mr Joyce said passenger comfort on the long flight was a key consideration. “When we designed the interior of our 787s, we wanted to make sure passengers would be comfortable on the extended missions the aircraft was capable of.
“That’s why we have features in our Economy seats that other airlines reserve for Premium Economy. Our Business Suite has been nicknamed ‘mini First class’ by many of our frequent flyers. And we’re redesigning our on-board service to help reduce jetlag,” he added.
The enhanced Qantas cabin design is in addition to the comfort factors that Boeing built in to the Dreamliner – improved air quality, lower cabin noise and technology to reduce turbulence.
Mr Joyce said the direct route is expected to appeal to travellers on the East Coast as well as West Australians, helping to deliver a tourism boost.
“A direct flight makes travelling to Australia a much more attractive proposition to millions of people. We expect many travellers from Europe will start their time in Australia with a visit to Perth before going on to see other parts of the country.
“Our modelling shows that people from the East Coast as well as South Australia would fly domestically to Perth to connect to our non-stop London service. Some will take the opportunity to break their journey, whether it’s for business meetings in Perth, to holiday or to visit family.”
The carriers domestic flight times will be reviewed to ensure good connectivity with the new London route as the new flight will operate through Qantas’ existing domestic terminals (T3/4), which will be upgraded to accommodate international flights.
Seats on the Perth-London flights will go on sale in April 2017 for the first services in March 2018. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners used on the route will carry 236 passengers across Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
What else can you do in 17-hours?
- Watch Gone With The Wind four and a half times
- Fly to the International Space Station almost three times
- Read about a third of War And Peace – at an average of three words a second
- Watch the first 18 episodes of Games of Thrones, and still have half an hour to spare.
- Play 11 games of football
Original kangaroo route
The first air travel connecting the UK to Australia began in 1935, flying passengers from Sydney to Singapore, where services linked with London-bound flights.
However, the journey time to London was 12 days and included a section on a train.
Qantas launched its pioneering weekly service on the Kangaroo Route on 1 December 1947, initially taking four days and carrying 29 passengers and 11 crew from Sydney to London.
The journey flew to Darwin, in northern Australia, and then on to Singapore, Calcutta in India, Karachi and Cairo, before it travelled to Tripoli, in Libya, and then on to London.
Fun Facts – Perth to London
- The 14,498km flight will take approximately 17 hours (slightly more or less depending on winds).
- Longest flight on the Qantas network, followed by the non-stop A380 Sydney-Dallas service (13,730km).
- Will be the longest Boeing Dreamliner flight in the world.
- The first regular passenger service from Australia to Europe adds to Qantas’ list of flying firsts, including:
- First passenger jet services across the Pacific in 1959 with a Boeing 707
- First (and only) non-stop passenger flight from London to Sydney in 1989 with a Boeing 747-400
- First to operate the world’s largest passenger aircraft (A380) on the world’s longest route (Sydney-Dallas) in 2014
- Perth was also used as a stopover on flights to London between the 1940s and 1960s.
