Australian travellers could be flying to Europe without stopping over in Asia or the UAE sooner than you think and it’s all thanks to Boeing’s 787-9.
Speaking to Air Transport World last week, Qantas’ boss Alan Joyce told attendees that the latest version of the Dreamliner has created new network opportunities for airlines and even opened up the possibility of ‘direct services from Australia to Europe for the first time’.
He said the airline was already looking at making the non-stop service a reality and it could potentially be operational by 2017.
Joyce indicated that the service would operate from Perth to London’s Heathrow Airport, according to The Independent.
The flight would take some 18 hours to complete, crossing eight time zones and covering more than 9,000 miles – 421 miles more than the current longest flight in the world, Qantas’ Sydney to Dallas service and 410 miles longer than Emirates’ forthcoming commercial flight to Panama City.
According to the newspaper, two pairs of pilots would be required for the flight as well as additional cabin crew. They would await their shift in a crew rest area located above the passenger cabin.
The service would also require permission to fly over politically challenged areas such as Caucasus and Iran’s city of Tabriz.
However, the addition of a non-stop service between Perth and London would complete the airline’s network to Europe and create new opportunities to connect Aussies to other parts of the continent.
Currently, Qantas flies daily to Heathrow from Melbourne and Sydney via Dubai. The airline has cut back on its services from Western Australia to London via Asia in recent years after terminating its relationship with British Airways.
Last week, Emirates’ President Tim Clark revealed the airline was in talks with Qantas to expand their current partnership that could see the Flying Kangaroo commence flights from Dubai to mainland Europe such as Frankfurt, Paris and Rome.