Qantas close to striking deal on direct flights from London to Australia – which could be launched next year
The Perth-London journey would be the world's longest non-stop flight
IT could be possible to fly direct from London to Australia this time next year.
Bosses at Qantas and Perth Airport are expected to strike a deal within days, allowing the airline to move forward with plans for the world's longest non-stop flight.
The 14,466-kilometre flight would take 17 and a half hours.
Flights could start by Christmas 2017 once Qantas takes delivery of its first long-range Boeing 787 Dreamliners, according to Aussie media.
The West Australian newspaper reported Qantas chief Alan Joyce was close to making a deal with Perth airport officials to allow passengers to board the 787 for London from the airport’s domestic terminal, making the transfer easier for passengers arriving from Sydney and Melbourne.
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The breakthrough came after discussions between the two parties became tense over the cost of upgrades needed for terminals 3 and 4 at Perth Airport.
The improvements are expected to cost somewhere between £15 million and £16.5m - and last week a spokesman for Perth Airport claimed Qantas were refusing to pay a penny towards it.
The longest non-stop passenger route so far is an Emirates Airlines 14,200-kilometre Dubai-to-Auckland flight started in March 2016, which takes 16 hours 35 minutes in an Airbus A380.
That beat the previous non-stop record held by the Qantas Dallas-Sydney route that takes 17 hours to fly 13,800 kilometres.
The move is expected to pave the way for more direct flights between Australia and Europe - to Paris, Rome and Frankfurt.