It’s one of the longest journeys you can make – the long haul to the UK. You have 14 hours then another 7 hours on a plane, and sometimes up to three stop overs. It can be hard to want to fly all that way for your friends and family, but a new plan by Qantas could change how we get halfway across the world.
Qantas’ chief executive Alan Joyce said the new 787-9 aircraft means the airline could fly from Australia to Britain non-stop within two years.
“The 787-9 has the range to operate such a route,” Joyce told Air Transport World. “This opens up direct service from Australia to Europe for the first time”.
The only catch? The route may have to pass over Crimea, which is currently off-limits to air traffic after Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian air surface missile in July last year.
The route would likely start in Perth, however if an alternative airport for an emergency landing was needed, the closest major airport is Adelaide, which is 2,000km away.
Replacing the 747 fleet, the 787-9s will have about 250 seats, including business class, premium economy and economy class, reports Traveller.
Qantas already takes the cake for the longest flight path in the world – Sydney to Dallas-Fort Worth – a 13,800km haul that takes about 15 hours. Perth to London is around 14,000km.
Not interested in an extremely long flight? Richard Branson recently told traveller.com.au his space flight company Virgin Galactic is expected to make the journey from Australia to London in less than two hours within the next generation.
Tell us, would you take a plane from Perth (or another Australian city) to London direct?
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