Qantas, Australia’s flag carrier is planning to offer first-ever non-stop service to the UK with a planned route between London and Perth. At just under 9,000 miles, it would be the world’s longest flight.
The airline plans to fly the route with a Boeing 787-9; several are on order and the first will be received in 2017…so don’t book your tickets yet! There are also other issues to be resolved for the super-long flight (aside from who wants to fly that long); one of them is whether there are sufficient alternatives in case of trouble. Perth is the logical destination as the closest major Australian city to the UK; in case a flight needed to be diverted, it would have to fly an additional 1300 miles to Adelaide.
Because of the distance and time, a double crew of pilots would be needed, and extra cabin crew as well to meet safety requirements.
Meanwhile, the following year, Singapore Airlines plans to restart its former non-stop NYC-Singapore route, which tops out at 9535 miles. That flight is planned to use an extended-range A350.
