The first direct Qantas flight from Perth to Rome has taken off with QF5 due to land in the eternal city on Thursday 23 June at 0730 local time.
The inaugural departure is the only direct service between Australia and continental Europe, with Qantas flying three return Sydney-Perth-Rome flights per week to meet demand over the European holiday peak season.
The new seasonal flight aims to cut more than three hours off the current fastest travel time to Rome with a journey time of around 17 hours using the 787-9 Dreamliner, with cabins designed specifically for long-haul travel.
Customers will be able to combine Qantas’ Rome flights with its double-daily direct flights between Australia and London, meaning they will be able to fly in and out of different cities on one return ticket through to October 2022.
The Rome service will also give customers another option for reaching onward destinations across the Mediterranean and southern Europe through Qantas’ network of partners.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said strong travel demand since borders re-opened had given the Flying Kangaroo confidence to explore new destinations as travellers look to make up for lost time.
“We’ve seen amazing demand on our direct service from Perth to London and on our new services to Delhi from Melbourne and Sydney. These are exciting destinations and there’s strong evidence the pandemic is making non-stop flights between Australia and the rest of the world even more desirable as we learn to live with the virus and its variants,” said Mr Joyce.
Face masks will also not be required on the flight to Rome for passengers or staff, though masks will be offered for those that still wish to wear them. In a nod to the current state of inconsistency in rules, masks will be required on the return flight into Australia.
The inaugural flight is also a Points Planes flight for Frequent Flyers with every seat in every cabin available to have been booked as a reward seat and on the first flight back to Australia departing Rome on 23 June.
The seasonal route will operate from 22 June until 6 October.
Find out more: www.qantas.com.au