First nonstop flight between UK and Australia lands in London
The first nonstop flight scheduled between the United Kingdom and Australia (Perth-London) landed at London's Heathrow airport on Sunday, according to the Australian airline Qantas, responsible for the trip. The plane completed its journey of 14,498 kilometers, from the Australian city of Perth to the British capital, in just over 17 hours.
The airline has used for this trip, the first non-stop connection operated between the old continent and Australia, a 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, a device twice as efficient as the Boeing 747. More than 200 passengers, accompanied by 16 personnel agents, left the city of Perth, in Western Australia, at 11.00 GMT on Saturday and landed on Sunday at 05.02GMT at London's Heathrow airport.
The new route is 24% more extensive than the longest service offered by the United Kingdom so far, the flight operated by the Garuda Indonesia company between Heathrow and Jakarta, a non-stop route of 11,707 kilometers. The flight with Perth is about three hours faster than the routes that involve stopping in the Middle East to change planes or refuel. To minimize the discomfort of a trip without such long pauses, the 787-9 Dreamliner has a number of features that improve air quality and reduce cabin noise.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with a capacity of 236 passengers, will perform the 14,498 kilometers in 17 hours, one of the longest direct routes in the world. In February 2017, Doha (Qatar) - Auckland (New Zealand), from Qatar Airways, with a slightly longer distance, 14,535 kilometers, was inaugurated. Qantas hopes that over time they can make direct routes to other European cities such as Paris and Frankfurt.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the new route "changes the game" and recalled that the flights offered so far by the company between Australia and the United Kingdom, known as "the kangaroo route" last four days and involve seven scales. The State Government of Western Australia is confident that this nonstop tour with Europe will increase the number of tourists.
The announcement of the inauguration of this new route took place at the end of 2016, after the company and the Perth airport reached an agreement so that this flight could use the domestic terminal to facilitate the transit to other destinations in Australia.