London to Perth direct Qantas fares could drop below $2000

The Kangaroo Route is set to change dramatically as sales for the first non-stop Australia to London route kick off.

An artist’s impression of the Boeing 787-Dreamliner. Picture: Qantas

The Kangaroo Route is set to change dramatically as sales for the first non-stop Australia to Europe route kick off today.

Tickets for the new Perth-London route go on sale today and will go into service on March 24, 2018.

It has been seven decades since the national airline first flew Australians to London, when it would passengers take four days and seven stops to get there.

In a significant change, the plan will see the existing stopover in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai end for passengers flying Qantas from Melbourne to London. Instead, Qantas will start a new Melbourne-Perth-London flight. That flight will no longer be on the A380

Fares for the 14,498km-flight will start at $2,270 for economy class. Qantas says they could drop below $2,000 during sales periods.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said that while services would be operated on the new Boeing 787-Dreamliner, this was “the kind of route that the Dreamliner was created for, because of its built-in features to reduce jet lag and improve the overall travel experience”.

“The Kangaroo Route has kept changing with new technology,” Mr Joyce said.

He said research the carrier had done showed there was consumer interest in visiting Western Australia by people from Britain, Europe and Australia.

“A lot of business travellers, particularly in the resources sector, will stop off in Perth on their way to the UK,” Mr Joyce said.