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Qantas' direct Sydney to London flights are a “real possibility”

Now that Perth-London flights are close to getting off the ground through Qantas, the carrier is looking towards the future and that could mean more Australian cities receiving direct access to Europe.

Now that Perth-London flights are close to getting off the ground through Qantas, the carrier is looking towards the future and that could mean more Australian cities receiving direct access to Europe.

Touching on the flying capabilities of long-range aircraft, such as the Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s, the Flying Kangaroo’s Chief Executive, Alan Joyce, told Reuters he thinks they offer a real chance at connecting cities such as Melbourne and Sydney to London.

“These aircraft, we think, are potentially real goers on these routes.”

Alan Joyce, Qantas Chief Executive told Reuters

“You know from what they have done on other aircraft that Sydney-London and Melbourne-London has real possibility.”

Qantas tail feature

A non-stop service from Sydney to London could take around 20 hours to complete, that’s three hours more than the forthcoming Perth-London service, which covers 4,498 kilometres in 17 hours.

Engineers and plane-makers have been hard at work trying to find new ways of safely extending air travel, and Boeing believes its Boeing 777-8 may be able to offer just that.

Qantas

In the same Reuters article, Boeing Senior Vice President Sales Asia-Pacific and India, Dinesh Keskar, said he thinks the factory’s aircraft have “the legs and the capability” of ultra-long range air travel.

“If the 787-9 can do Perth-London, we think that when the 777-8 comes out in the 2021 timeframe we will have a lot more improvement in technology,” he said.

Would you be up for 20 hours on a plane if it meant skipping the stopover?