Australia’s Qantas Airways has launched a first-ever: nonstop flights between London and the western Australian city of Perth. By the time the first flight landed last week, the passengers had been in the air for over 17 hours.
But even at that length, it saved three hours over previous routes, which required a stopover along the way, commonly in the Middle East. At 9,009 miles, it’s the longest non-stop serving Britain, longer than the 7,275-mile route between London and Jakarta.
It also beat overall records; the previous long-distance king for scheduled flights was the Dubai-Auckland, New Zealand route flown by Emirates. That route is 8,824 miles long, and is scheduled at 17 hours and 15 minutes (1 minute longer than the London-Perth flight) but usually takes less time.
The Qantas flight uses a 787-9, while the Emirates flight uses a 777-200.
