Green light for non-stop flights to London from 2018

A HISTORY-MAKING flight direct to the UK has been cleared for takeoff, with seats on sale in four months — and it could be the start of more great things for Aussie travellers.

Qantas unveiling its new livery in Sydney in October on an A330. Picture: Chris Pavlich

QANTAS and Perth Airport have struck a deal to allow the start of the first non-stop flights between Australia and London in early 2018.

The new “kangaroo route” will be the longest non-stop passenger flight in the world at 17.5 hours.

There had been some conflict about which terminal the flights would operate from with Qantas pushing for domestic terminal 3 but Perth Airport’s preference being the international Terminal 1.

The argument was resolved in Qantas’ favour, with passengers to arrive and depart from Terminal 3 which will be upgraded to provide immigration and quarantine services.

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Qantas boss Alan Joyce showing off the Flying Kangaroo’s new look in Sydney in October. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the history-making route would be a watershed for travel, tourism and trade.

“When Qantas 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,” Mr Joyce said.

“This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft, Qantas’s new 787-9. “Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge.”

He said the service would also make travelling to Australia a “much more attractive proposition to millions of people”.

“We expect many travellers from Europe will start their time in Australia with a visit to Perth before going on to see other parts of the country,” Mr Joyce said.

“Our modelling shows that people from the East Coast as well as South Australia would fly domestically to Perth to connect to our non-stop London service.”

Perth Airport CEO Kevin Brown has reached agreement with Qantas to begin non-stop flights to London from 2018. Picture: Colin Murty

Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan was the first to welcome the new route.

He said Qantas’s investment in ultra-long haul aircraft had “enormous potential for Australian tourism where time and distance were traditionally perceived as competitive obstacles”.

“Europe is such a critical source market for us, and the introduction by Qantas of direct flights between London and Perth really is a game changing moment for Australian tourism,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Testing out new Business Class seats that will go into Qantas’s 787-9 Dreamliners. Picture: Chris Pavlich

Australian Business Traveller editor David Flynn described the Perth-London service as a “Kangaroo Route for the 21st century”.

“It should be considered as the shape of things to come,” said Mr Flynn.

“Qantas expects the majority of Perth-London flyers will come from Australia’s east coat, jetting across from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on domestic flights before hopping on to the Dreamliner at Perth.”

He said as a Qantas port, Perth had gone from “zero to hero”.

“Only a few years ago Qantas dropped all international flights from Perth — eventually reinstating a single Boeing 737 run to Singapore,” Mr Flynn said.

“Now the WA capital is being transformed into the airline’s Aussie hub for non-stop flights to Europe.”