The first non-stop scheduled flight between Australia and the UK touched down in London on Saturday after a 17-hour journey.
Qantas Flight QF9 completed the 9,009-mile journey from Perth – a service labelled by chief executive Alan Joyce as “game changing”.
The historic flight took place on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, carrying more than 200 passengers and 16 crew.
Speaking ahead of the inaugural flight he said the earliest Qantas flights between Australia and the UK, described as the “kangaroo route”, had initially taken four days, with seven stops along the way.
The new 17-hour flight is part of an ambitious plan by the Australian flag carrier to add ultra long-haul flights to its schedules.
Western Australia is also hoping to see a boost in tourist numbers as a result.
ttgluxury editor April Hutchinson joined the flight from London Heathrow back to Perth – see this week’s TTG for more.
Next stop #Perth ! Great buzz at Heathrow today as we embark on the first @Qantas commercial direct flight from UK to Oz #QF10 #Dreamliner pic.twitter.com/1JpeyA86f7
— April Hutchinson (@AprilHutchinson) March 25, 2018