FIRST EVER scheduled direct flight from Australia to the UK and europe!

At 7:00PM Australian Western standard time, VH-ZND, named "Emily Kame Kngawarreye" after the artist who made the artwork that adorns the fuselage of the aircraft (Yam dreaming), lifted off of Perth's Runway 21 for it's 17 and a half hour flight to London's Heathrow airport. It arrived in the Early hours of the morning so barely any spotters drew themselves from their slumber to catch it, however many, like me, went down to the airport to see it depart as QF10 back to PER. November-Delta is Qantas' fourth Boeing 787-9, with her first flight on 3rd February of this year from Boeing's Everett Paine Field plant. Qantas have studied the winds on this route to make sure the experience is as comfortable as possible and as fuel efficient as possible. Multiple officials, including Qantas' CEO, Alan Joyce, have reported that the daily flight is great for Western Australia (WA) and the facts have proven this. The flight has already added a notable boost to the local economy. The Flight's captain was Lisa Norman, a female pilot who hopes to inspire many more young girls to become pilots and follow their dreams. She commented on the pluses of the new aircraft, saying how she feels less jet-lagged due to the lower cabin altitude and better Air-conditioning system.

VH-ZND climbing out of London Heathrow's Runway 09R as QF10 (Photo by author).

In 1935, Qantas began "The Kangaroo Route" from Brisbane to London. One ticket costed £585 at the time (£29,637.62 in today's money), the equivalent of 310 weeks of average pay at the time. It took 12 and a half days and was initially operated by a Qantas Empire Airways DH. 86 express on the Brisbane to Singapore leg and then an Imperial Airways Aircraft. In 1989 VH-OJA "The City Of Canberra", a Qantas 747-400 made a non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Sydney Kingsford Smith International on it's delivery flight and, until 25th March 2018, it remained the longest un-refuelled flight by an airliner.

Personally, I feel that this route is a marvel of engineering and is not only beneficial to WA and London but also to the whole world, showing everybody that this is what we can do and we can do it comfortably and in an environmentally friendly way. From all of us here at AviationNews, we hope that this new route will be long-living and prosperous!