LHR ~ PER = 18 hrs, says Qantas
 

Non-stop flight from UK to Australia will happen within two years, says Qantas | Home News | News | The Independent

They propose this on the 787-9, but I'd ask about their window control protocol first ...

Being a senior citizen and not in too much of a hurry, I would avoid 18 hour flights like the plague. I prefer a stopover for a day or two, in Singapore for instance, to break the trip up. But I guess the workaholics will be delighted with this non-stop option.

It's not the worlds longest flight, Dubai to Panama City come in at around 19 hours, but it's certainly up there. I'm not sure if there is enough demand from a Perth size city for a non stop London flight as people using it would be primarily going to London only, with Singapore or the Middle East offering better connections.

I certainly wouldn't want to spend 18 hours non stop in a 787 with 9 across seating, just thinking about it makes me cringe.:eek:

Well I've spent 14 (ish) hours in a KLM B777 MNL/AMS, and in the days when I was a smoker, what's the difference between 14 and 18 hours, once one has been in an aluminum tube for that long an extra 4 hours isn't very long at all.

I recall when I was positioning LHR/BKK/SYD/MEL, I just wanted the journey over and done with as quickly as possible rather than all these damn stops!

London to Perth
 

Might work if you lived in Perth. Otherwise another 5 hours to Sydney. I'd rather 2*12 hours. And the Aussies will make you clear immigration in Perth.

Distance-wise, as the crow flies, LHR-PER is about 400nm longer than DXB-PTY.

When the were operating I did LAX - SIN and LAX - BKK a few times, both over 17 hours flights. Not pleasant and I for one don't mourn their passing. TG and SQ couldn't make ultra long haul work and I don't see anything has changed from the passengers point of view.

From my own experience of long flights (albeit 13 hrs having been my maximum) I would personally disagree with you Phileas, in as much that I find those remaining 3 to 4 hours the longest of all. By the ninth hour I've seen enough movies, done enough reading, had a nap or two and just want to get off the damn aeroplane :)

Back in the day I worked for one particularly "Skytrain" operator where, in the days when we merely operated DC10-10's, the LGW/LAX/LGW service would fuel stop in BGR.

Once we got DC10-30's the flights would operate direct LGW/LAX/LGW however, what with all the tankering of fuel, it remained more cost effective to fuel stop in BGR.

Longer flights can prove more expensive to the operator whilst less desirable for the passenger!

real problem is that Perth offers a very restricted market - doesn't matter how long the flight is

Sydney/Melbourne are the only Aussie destinations with real heft for the business community

And that's why A380's, rather than B787's, operate those routes

When you travel for work, and in these times where commercial aviation travel is equal to nail removal torture, you just want to get there. Get the pain over with in a short a time as possible. Besides, I'm on a schedule - I don't have the time to dilly dally on some layover.

I will always choose a direct flight over a connecting one. Even if it's serviced by a worse airline, or one I can't get any miles on. Direct. Always.
I just hoped they'd do a direct line to Sydney instead. Perth doesn't seem like it would work.

Why do you want to go to Perth? :E

Likes Scotland but not in a hurry to get there.

In a previous life I worked a summer season down in Oz, we never operated to Perth as we only had 2 engines on our B737's, Dan Air were operating the Perth routes with their B727, but Perth is a very popular, and apparently beautiful, destination.

Why go to Perth? ... Perhaps for similar reasons that Air Mauritius, ANZ, Cathay, China Southern, Emirates, Qatar and another M. Eastern carrier, Garuda, Singapoore Airlines, SAA and Thai, to name but some, go to Perth ... Because people do want to go to/from there.

Perth is the hub that serves, pretty much, half of Australia, just look at all the feeder routes, many operated by Qantas and/or QantasLink, in/out of Perth, with an aircraft the size of a B787 I would suggest that such a route is a winner.

"Perth is the hub that serves, pretty much, half of Australia,"

the empty half.............

You mean all these airliners fly around empty to/from Perth?

AirAsia X Kuala Lumpur
Air Mauritius Mauritius
Air New Zealand Auckland, Christchurch
Airnorth Darwin, Kununurra
Alliance Airlines Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Leinster, Leonora, Mount Keith, Newman, Port Hedland, Telfer, The Granites
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong
China Southern Airlines Guangzhou
Cobham Barrow Island, Kambalda, Granny Smith, Murrin Murrin GA
Emirates Dubai-International
Anonymous Airways Abu Dhabi
Garuda Indonesia Denpasar, Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta
Indonesia AirAsia Denpasar
Jetstar Airways Adelaide, Cairns, Denpasar, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney
Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore
Malaysia Airlines Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur
Malindo Air Kuala Lumpur
Maroomba Airlines Mount Magnet
Qantas Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Broome, Canberra, Christmas Creek, Cloudbreak, Darwin, Geraldton, Ginbata, Exmouth, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Melbourne, Newman, Paraburdoo, Port Hedland, Singapore, Sydney Auckland
Qantaslink Bellevue, Exmouth, Geraldton, Christmas Creek, Cloudbreak, Coyote, Leinster, Morawa, Mount Hale, Sinclair, Solomon, Woodie Woodie
Qatar Airways Doha
Scoot Singapore
Singapore Airlines Singapore
Skippers Aviation Burnakura, Darlot-Centenary, Carnarvon, Jundee, Karara, Kalbarri, Laverton, Lawlers, Leinster, Leonora, Meekatharra, Monkey Mia, Mount Magnet, Plutonic, Sunrise Dam, Wiluna
South African Airways Johannesburg
Thai Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi
Tigerair Australia Melbourne, Sydney, Denpasar 1
Virgin Australia Adelaide, Brisbane, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Darwin, Denpasar, Karratha, Newman, Melbourne, Phuket, Port Hedland, Sydney
Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Albany, Broome, Esperance, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Kununurra, Ravensthorpe, Port Hedland

I guess he means the empty half of Australia. But I see your point.

RiS,

Of course WA is less densely populated that the eastern states but, for Christ's sake, we're talking about a once daily 250 (ish) seater to/from Pommieland.

How difficult can that be?

Methinks that one factor in planning this is to get some of their European traffic back. The ME and Legacy Euro carriers have done very well of late, if QF can regain some of that AND the transfers on to the rest of OZ? That could be worth it.