Overview
Arguably the worst part of travel is the bit where you actually have to travel. Sitting in an over-cramped, over-air-conditioned metal tube for 20+ hours almost makes post-pasta swims in the Mediterranean seem too much trouble than it's worth (almost). But until we're at The Fifth Element stage where we can just hop in a capsule and get knocked out cold for the duration of the journey, we'll just have to be content with airlines' attempts at cutting down flight times and transfers.
In huge news for Aussie travellers, Qantas last week announced they are really close to locking down a direct flight from Australia to Europe. Thanks to their new Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft — which are set to start flying in October 2017 — the airline hope to run non-stop flights from Perth to London in the near future. Direct, the Perth to London flight time would be 17-18 hours. It would be considerably quicker than their current route, which, with their partnership with Emirates, includes a rather hellish stopover in Dubai (as all stopovers are). It would be the first and only direct flight from Australia to Europe.
"This aircraft allows us to fly routes that we could only imagine in the past," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told The Australian. "It allows us to fly from Perth to London, from Sydney to Chicago or Melbourne to Dallas."
Qantas are still in negotiations to lock down the new route, but are expected to confirm its actualisation pretty soon. The sort-of news comes as the airline revealed the layout for their new Dreamliner fleet, which will be two-thirds the size of the 747s they will eventually replace and have only 236 seats (as opposed to the 747's 364 seats). Economy will have a 3:3:3 seat situation (as opposed to the 3:4:3), as well as USB ports and an extra inch of leg room. Hurrah for leg room! Plus, they also revealed some new branding, which includes new typography on the side of their planes.
Qantas are set to confirm the Perth to London route soon. We'll update you when they do.
Via The Australian.