Giant hop for Aussie aviation as first Qantas direct flight from Perth to London takes flight

AS the final countdown for Qantas’ first direct, luxurious flight from Australia to London continues, the airline has revealed how it will change the way passengers fly.

AVIATION history will be made today when the first direct Qantas flight from Australia to Europe departs from Perth airport.

The groundbreaking flight to London will be the third longest in the world, and paves the way for direct flights from both London and New York to Sydney by the national carrier.

Operation Sunrise is the ambitious Qantas project aiming to make the non-stop flights to Australia’s east coast possible by 2022.

Co-captain of the inaugural flight, Lisa Norman, told News Corp Airbus and Boeing were working hard to develop a plane which could make the journey, and Qantas had been meeting with the aircraft manufacturers “continually” over the past two months.

Qantas chief Alan Joyce likened the evening before the historic first direct flight from Perth to London as the aviation and tourism equivalent of the night before Christmas.

Alan Joyce speaks at the launch of the new Dreamliner. Picture: Emma Murray

Speaking at a Perth function on Friday night to celebrate the milestone, Mr Joyce said he was “blown away” by the interest in the new route from around the globe.

“This is a major, major aviation story – it’s a game changer,” he said. “It’s a big step for western Australia, a big step for Australia, a big step for Qantas and a big step for aviation.”

Qantas had been preparing for this moment for the best part of a century, Mr Joyce said.

“It is a game changer for Australian aviation – the last two continents of the world that don’t have an air link - joined. We are so, so excited.”

MORE: Perth to London: all your questions answered
MORE: Meet the pilots captaining the historic flight

Qantas Ambassador Jesinta Franklin at the new Perth International Transit Lounge.

Jesinta trying out the stretching classes at the new Perth International Transit Lounge.

Don’t mind if I do.

Model Jesinta Franklin spruiked the route yesterday, as she relaxed in the new outdoor terrace area of Qantas’s premium international transit lounge.

The Perth-to-London flight is expected to take 17 hours and 20 minutes, and is scheduled to touch down at Heathrow Airport at 5.10am local time on Sunday.

The Boeing Dreamliner-787 will carry a number of paying passengers, keen to be part of aviation history, as well as politicians, other special guests and international media.

Namaste.

The New Australia-UK route is expected to entice more European visitors to Australia and deliver a $36 million a year shot in the arm for the west.

Federal Trade and Tourism Minister, Steven Ciobo, said this week the direct flights would deliver tourism dollars and jobs for the whole country.

“Importantly, it will help us to further capitalise on the UK market, which is expected to be worth between $5.5 billion and $6.7 billion in 2020,” he said.

The significance of Qantas’ new route could not be underestimated — representing an incredible technological and aviation feat — and was “a game changer” in terms of convenience of travel, Mr Ciobo said.

Tourism Australia managing director, John O’Sullivan, said the benefits of the new route would extend far beyond Perth and Western Australia, with strong domestic aviation networks able to fly international travellers to destinations around Australia.

Qantas’ newest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Picture: Qantas/Emily Kame Kngwarreye

The Dreamliner flights will also break new ground in passenger comfort and wellbeing.

In an aviation first, Qantas has teamed up with The University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre to develop a scientific approach to reducing jet lag on long haul flights and maintaining passenger health.

Professor of Sleep Medicine at the Charles Perkins Centre, Peter Cistulli said the centre had worked with the University of Sydney’s School of Physics to create an airline-first “body clock intervention”, using bright light to help kick start the adjustment of passengers’ body clocks.

The first pilots for the Qantas Dreamliner flight from Perth to London. Captain Lisa Norman and first officer David Summergreene. Picture: Tim Pascoe

“Applying light at appropriate times helps reduce the effects of jet lag,” Prof. Cistulli said.

The university had also worked with Qantas to enhance passenger comfort and wellbeing in other areas, including in-flight food and drink service and temperature on the Dreamliner-787, he said.

“We are interested in seeing how customers will respond,” Prof. Cistulli said.

The university will carry out research on some of the passengers on the London flight, who will be connected to special monitors.

The same Perth airport terminal will be used for both domestic and international flights.

The new transit lounge for Qantas Business Class, Gold and Qantas Club members features “a wellness studio”, with regular stretching and yoga classes on offer, shower suites and an outdoor terrace with barbecue.

Qantas head of customer product and service, Phillip Capps, said the launch of the London Dreamliner service had given Qantas a clean slate to introduce revolutionary features designed to improve passenger wellbeing, both in and out of the air.

“It was the catalyst for wholistic rethink of the customer experience,” he said.

LONGEST FLIGHTS IN THE WORLD

1. Air India — Delhi to San Francisco — Boeing-777-200 — 15,300 kms

2. Qatar. — Doha to Auckland — Boeing 777-200 — 14,535 kms

3. Qantas — Perth to London — Boeing 787 Dreaminer — 14,498 kms

4. Dubai-Auckland — Emirates — A380 — 14,200 kms

5. United — Los Angles — Singapore — Boeing 787 — 14,000 kms

FAST FACTS

1. The 14,498km flight will take approximately 17 hours and 20 minutes (slightly more or less depending on winds).

2. It will be the longest flight on the Qantas network, followed by the non-stop A380 Sydney-Dallas service which is 13,730km, and the third-longest passenger flight in the world.

3. The new Boeing 787-Dreamliner has larger windows and higher humidity than other aircraft which means passengers should not become as dehydrated.

4. It also has cabin pressure (equivalent to altitude) of 6000ft. Most airliners have a cabin pressure of 8000ft.

5. There is also a special in-flight menu designed to increase hydration and reduce jet lag.

6. The Dreamliner carries 236 passengers

7. The Dreamliner uses less fuel than other aircraft of its size and type. The 787 uses up to 20 per cent less fuel than other aircraft of its size and is expected to use 92 tonnes or 110,000 litres of fuel on its flight from Perth to London.

8. Eight Dreamliners have been ordered and all will be delivered by the end of 2018 allowing for the retirement of five older 747s. One features an indigenous livery featuring the work of the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

9. The first regular passenger service from Australia to Europe adds to Qantas’ list of flying firsts, including the first passenger jet services across the Pacific in 1959 with a B707.

10. The original Kangaroo route (from Sydney to London) started in 1947 and had the following stopovers over four day duration: Sydney, Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito, Rome, London.

11. The name of the Kangaroo route originated from engineers who worked on the Liberator aircraft in the 1940s. The aircraft featured a small red kangaroo painted on the nose. Coincidentally, the name also symbolises the numerous stops or hops that needed to be made between Australia and the UK.

12. Year round return economy fares for the Melbourne-London and Perth-London routes start from $2270 but are expected to drop below $2,000 during sale periods.

13. The in-flight menu has been designed famous chef, Neil Perry, in collaboration with clinical sleep specialists, nutritionists and metabolic scientists to aid hydration and sleep, and reduce jet lag. Passengers on the flight may be offered probiotic Bc30 infused Botanica cold pressed juice shots, organic kombucha, bespoke “relaxation” herbal tea and a hot chocolate bedtime drink, designed to induce sleep.

14. The Dreamliner has a wingspan of 60 metres, is 63 metres long, 17 metres high and has a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 or 900km/h.

15. There are more than 21,000 individual items loaded on to the aircraft for each flight between Perth and London including 330 peppermint tea bags and hundreds of chocolate biscuits.