Qantas to Run Non-Stop Flights from Australia to London

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 over the weekend announced they will start operating a direct flight from Australia to Europe from March 2018. Thanks to their new Dreamliner 787-9 aircraft — which is set to start flying in October 2017 — the airline's non-stop flights from Perth to London will take approximately 17 hours. It will 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 is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a Qantas press release. "Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge."

We first reported on this back in October, when Qantas were still in negotiations with the Western Australian Government and Perth Airport to lock down the new route. It seems they managed to reach an agreement, as the new Perth-London flight will operate from Qantas' domestic terminal at Perth Airport, to make the stopover as smooth as possible for travellers coming from other states.

The airline recently 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.

The Perth to London route will start operating in March 2018, and flights will go on sale from April 2017.