Qantas non-stop Perth-London flights go on sale from $2270

IT’S the flight Aussies have been waiting to book. The hottest tickets in town are now up for grabs - so how much will they set you back?

IT’S the flight Aussies have been waiting to book.

Qantas’ direct Perth-London route goes on sale today, initially priced from $2270 for a return economy fare, but the airline says that figure is likely to be reduced to under $2000 during sales.

Travellers seeking greater comfort during the marathon flight will pay $4250 for a Premium Economy seat or $9725 in Business Class.

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The 18-hour service will become the world’s longest non-stop Boeing 787 flight, and is billed a game changer for the airline — and the Australian tourism industry.

The flights are on sale from noon (AEST) today.

Qantas will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route, which will launch on March 24, 2018.

Departing Perth at 6.50pm, the flight arrives at London’s Heathrow Airport at 5.10am the next day.

The return flight departs London at 1.30pm, landing at Perth the next day at 1.15pm.

Qantas’ new Perth-London route goes on sale today.

The fare announcement coincides with the revelation Melbourne residents will lose their Qantas A380 service to London via Dubai with the aircraft redeployed to Asia for seasonal peak periods.

It will be replaced with the 787-9 service to London via Perth, in a move that will reduce the length of the trip by 90 minutes.

It comes as Emirates announces it will upgrade its third daily flight from Melbourne to Dubai from a Boeing 777 service to an A380, with connections to Europe, adding 945 seats per week from March 25, 2018.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said there had been global interest in the Perth-London flights since they were announced in December 2016.

“We’ve said the Qantas Dreamliner is a game changer, and that’s becoming real today,” Mr Joyce said.

“The Kangaroo Route has kept changing with new technology. It used to take four days and seven stops but now we’re able to link Australia and UK in a single hop. It’s a level of convenience Australians have never had before.

“We’re conscious that this is a long flight, but not much longer than our Sydney to Dallas service. It’s the kind of route that the Dreamliner was created for, because of its built-in features to reduce jetlag and improve the overall travel experience.

“We’ve added a very high level of comfort in each of the cabins and a lower seat count than most of our competitors. And we’re making tweaks to our in-flight service designed to help customers enjoy the journey more.”

Mr Joyce said direct routes tended to stimulate new travel demand by making it easier to get to a destination – something that will benefit the West Australian economy and Australian tourism more broadly.

“This route makes Western Australia a new tourism gateway for Australia. We know from our research that there’s a lot of appetite to explore the West, not just from British and European visitors but also from Aussies on their way to London. A lot of business travellers, particularly in the resources sector, will stop off in Perth on their way to the UK,” he said.

Australian Business Traveller editor David Flynn said at first glance the fares seemed “fairly pricey”.

“There’s clearly a premium to be paid for flying non-stop, or even taking the Boeing 787 all the way from Melbourne to London via Perth,” said Mr Flynn.

“Those fares will become more competitive during sale periods, but not everybody will want to spend 17-plus hours in the air. For many travellers, a stop-over won’t just be a matter of economics but sanity.”

A 32-inch seat pitch in economy will provide passengers with an inch of extra wriggle room during the flight which shaves three hours off current travel time to London.

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