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UP AND AWAY: Qantas historic Perth to London flight takes off

In what is a moment to celebrate for Australia, Qantas flight QF9 has tonight taken off on its historic, first-ever direct flight from Perth to London.

In what is a moment to celebrate for Australia, Qantas flight QF9 has tonight taken off on its historic, first-ever direct flight from Perth to London.

The Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 showcasing indigenous livery left on-time at 18:50 (AEDT 21:50) with 236 high spirited passengers onboard including Alan Joyce (CEO Qantas Group) and a gaggle of dignitaries, mainstream media and select Qantas staff who have been working on the project for many years.

The maiden journey will take around 17 hours (becoming the third longest sector in the world) and arrive at London’s Heathrow Airport at 5.10am local time on Sunday (AEDT 16:10).

READ: 10 things you need to know about the inaugural Qf9 flight

QF9 is staffed by 12 crew and is being flown by four pilots with Captain Lisa Norman proudly leading the way to cross eight time zones through the night and land in London tomorrow to a chilly 4 degrees Celsius.

Alan Joyce and QF9 flight crew

Alan Joyce and QF9 flight crew incl. Captain Lisa Norman (Far right)

“I am immensely excited to be one of the crew embarking on this historic flight, just to be part of it is a great privilege. I would like to think that the founding fathers would be proud of Qantas’ continuously curious spirit that drives ongoing innovations and the conquering of new frontiers. They set the benchmark almost 100 years ago and we are proud to be continuing that pioneering legacy.”

Lisa Norman, Qantas Captain & Manager Boeing 787-9 Introduction Qantas Flight Operations

Many of the passengers in the newly designed economy cabin have paid around $2270 for a seat on the flight, which shaves hours off a typical Perth to London journey thanks to bypassing a stop in Asia.

So what happened in the final lead up to departure? Here’s our wrap.

 

QF9 was a first ever for a departure board in Australia


 

The excitement at check in was palpable

And clearly, it was all happening in ‘the lounge’


 

In fact, everyone seemed super pumped

Some aviation geeks were still obsessing about the route

While others just wanted to get a snap of Captain Lisa

 

Congratulations record-breaking QF9!

READ: 10 things you need to know about PER-LON and the Qantas Dreamliner

READ: Qantas Dreamliner to fly BNE-LAX

READ: FLY AWAY JETLAG: Qantas dishes up a new menu to make the long haul better for all

Have you seen a lot of interest in the Perth to London direct flights? Or is flying via Singapore to Europe still a better option?