Qantas has launched another new international route with a direct flight from Perth to Rome just in time for the European summer that will see Australian travellers confirm their undying love for globetrotting and gelato again.
The inaugural direct Qantas flight from Perth to Rome landed in the Eternal City last Thursday and follows the popularity of the airline’s non-stop Perth to London, which launched in 2018.
The Qantas seasonal flight is the only direct service between Australia and continental Europe with 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 specifically designed for long-haul travel.
It follows the announcement last week that Qantas will also launch two new international routes: Perth–Johannesburg from 1 November and Perth–Jakarta from 30 November this year.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said Australians are embracing the opportunity to travel and direct flights are the way of the future.
“We’re seeing an increasing preference for a non-stop flight to and from Australia to make the travel experience as efficient and easy as possible and we expect that will be a permanent shift in the way people want to travel,” Mr Joyce said.
“Qantas began services from Sydney to Rome in 1948 as part of our seven-stop Kangaroo Route to London now almost 20 years later, we are excited our flight path once again leads to Rome proving it really is the Eternal City.”
To celebrate the launch of the new Rome route, Qantas has introduced several new Italian-inspired items and Negroni cocktails across its lounges and inflight menu. We’ll cheers to that!
Want to know more? Head to qantas.com