Australians can now book non-stop flights from Australia to Europe for the first time, with tickets for Qantas’ Perth-London (Heathrow) route going on sale today.
Daily flights on the route begin on 24 March 2018 and form part of a new Melbourne-Perth-London return service.
The services will be operated by Qantas’ new Boeing 787-Dreamliner, with customers from other Australian cities able to connect to London via Perth.
Meanwhile, inbound passengers will be able to transfer from the West Australian capital to onward destinations across the country. WA is set to benefit from a few stopovers as a result of the route, too.
The new QF9/10 will replace Qantas’ existing Melbourne-Dubai-London services. The 14,498km flight will take approximately 17 hours (slightly more or less depending on winds). When it launches, it’s expected to be the third-longest passenger flight in the world.
Year round return Economy fares for the Melbourne-London and Perth-London routes start from $2,270 but are expected to drop below $2,000 during sale periods.
Year round return Premium Economy fares start from $4,450 between Melbourne and London and from $4,250 between Perth and London. Year round return Business fares start from $9,890 return between Melbourne and London and from $9,725 between Perth and London.
By swapping its daily A380 Melbourne-Dubai-London service for a daily 787-9 Melbourne-Perth-London service, Qantas has made Victoria the hub for its first four Dreamliners. Qantas’ first two 787s will be dedicated to the Melbourne-Los Angeles route from December 2017, with the third and fourth aircraft dedicated to Melbourne-Perth-London service from March 2018.
QF9/10 FLIGHT SCHEDULE
| Flight | Depart | Arrive | Days | Aircraft |
| QF 9 MEL-PER | 15:20 | 17:20 | Daily | B787-9 |
| QF 9 PER-LHR | 18:50 | 05:10 | Daily | B787-9 |
| QF 10 LHR-PER^ | 13:30 | 13:15 | Daily | B787-9 |
| QF 10 PER-MEL^ | 14:45 | 20:10 | Daily | B787-9 |
| QF 95 MEL-LAX^ | 21:40 | 19:00 | Six days (not Tuesday) | B787-9 |
