Were you one of those unbelievers who thought there was a better chance of Sydney seeing snow in summer than Australia ever receiving direct flights to London?
Did you roll your eyes every time someone would mention direct flights to the UK? Or whenever Qantas made headlines with its advantageous plans to fly direct to Europe?
Who could blame you having such doubts? Talks of direct flights to the UK have been flying around for years without much evidence of them actually happening.
Except now Qantas is bringing the dream to life, and it’s no bull, it’s actually happening.
The carrier released an official statement over the weekend saying it will make an aviation first in March 2018 when it kick starts regular passenger non-stop flights from Perth to London.
A specially-designed 787-9 Dreamliner will make the 4,498 kilometre journey, which will cut back the current one-day (or more) journey to Europe down to just 17 hours.
Okay so 17 hours does still sound kind of long for a non-stop trip, but Qantas’ CEO Alan Joyce, says the airline kept the super long haul flight in mind when designing the aircraft and stressed passenger comfort was front of mind.
“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.”
Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO
Joyce said Economy Passengers can expect features that are generally reserved for Premium Economy and the Business Suite has been nicknamed ‘mini First Class’ because of its high-end comfort.
On board service will also be redesigned to ease jetlag plus there are the current benefits of flying on a Dreamliner such as improved air quality, lower cabin noise and technology to reduce turbulence.
“This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft.”
Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO
“Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge.”
The Flying Kangaroo’s CEO expects travellers from the East Coast to be excited by the announcement as well as those across on the West Coast, where he believes many Europeans utilising the service will begin their holidays in Australia before catching a domestic flight to the other side.
The new flight will operate through Qantas’ existing domestic terminals (T3/4), which will be upgraded to accommodate international flights.
The airline’s current international services from Perth (to Singapore and to Auckland) will also move to this terminal, helping to simplify the journey for thousands of people every year. Qantas will move its operations to an expanded Terminal 1 at Perth Airport by 2025, pending a commercial agreement.
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.
Meanwhile, VisitBritain has welcomed Qantas’ non-stop service to London, saying it will increase capacity and make it easier for Aussies to discover “Britains amazing moments”.
“The new flights don’t just bring London closer to Western Australia, but will also create new ways for the rest of Australia to connect into regional Britain gateways such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester,” VisitBritain said.
Now all that’s left to do is grab a glass of champagne, cheers to Qantas (Boeing, engineers and all the other people working hard to make this happen) and wait until March 2018, .
