This is the burst
Today I’m really proud to announce Qantas will fly non-stop from Perth to London using our B787-9 Dreamliner from March 2018.
It’s another addition to our list of aviation firsts in our long history.
When we created the Kangaroo Route to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops. Now it will take just 17 hours from Perth non-stop.
This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft. Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge.
It’s great news for our people because it’s a symbol of the new era we’re entering, and the new opportunities that brings.
It’s great news for travellers because it will make it easier to get to London. And it’s great news for Australia because it will encourage more tourism.
The new flight will operate through our existing domestic terminals (T3/4), which will be upgraded to handle international flights. Our current Perth international services (to Singapore and Auckland) will also move to this terminal, and that will simplify the journey for thousands of our customers.
We’ll be looking at the timing of our domestic flights through Perth to offer better connections to our international flights, particularly given they will all be under the one roof.
We’re currently working through how the crewing and maintenance of the B787-9 will work, and pilot training is already underway.
Thank you to the many people across Qantas who worked hard to make this route a reality. I’d also like to acknowledge the support of the West Australian Government and Perth Airport.
Seats on our Perth-London flights will go on sale in April 2017 for the first services in March 2018.