Australian airline, Qantas, is planning to launch nonstop flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to London, and also New York, by 2022, Nine News reported online.
‘It’s huge, it’s fantastic news. East coast services – Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne – direct to London and New York is a huge step forward in connecting us to the world,’ Qantas chief of technical support Captain Alex Passerini reportedly told Today. ‘It’ll save four hours (on the trip) to London,’ he added.
According to the report, the Australian airline is looking for the manufacture of new planes capable of making the intercontinental journey from the east coast capitals without a stopover, with a plan to launch the new flights by 2022 latest. Qantas’ existing long-range aircraft, such as the Airbus A350, as well as the Boeing 777X, which is under-development, are not capable of covering the entire distance, it said.
Qantas expects the new nonstop flights to take 20 hours and 20 minutes from Sydney to London, and 18 hours and seven minutes from Sydney to New York. A total stopover time of 3 hours and 45 minutes and 2 hours and 43 minutes would be saved by each flight, respectively, the report added
Qantas is also set to launch its new Perth to London route on March 24, 2018. New lounges at both ends of the Perth-London route will be completed during fiscal year 2018, the airline said.
The Australian airline has also announced plans for a major cabin upgrade for its fleet of 12 Airbus A380s to improve passenger comfort on long haul flights. This will include replacing Skybeds in Business Class with the latest version of the Business Suite; increasing the size of the Premium Economy cabin and installing the same all-new seats that will debut on the Dreamliner at the end of this year; and refurbishment of the Economy and First Class sections. Work will begin in the second quarter of calendar year 2019, it said.
In addition, both the Business and Qantas Club lounges at Melbourne Domestic will be progressively renovated from November this year, providing customers with more space, comfort and dining options before they fly.
