Finally, after 97 years, Australian airline Qantas gets to fly the way it’s always wanted.
The Australian airline on Monday took delivery of the first of eight 787-9 Dreamliners from Boeing. It’s a jet that Qantas is pinning its future to — part of a years-long turnaround from record losses.
Next March, Qantas will inaugurate the first ever nonstop airline service between Australia and Europe, connecting Perth with London — a 17 hour journey.
«Given the tyranny of distance in our geographical position in our part of the world this new generation of [aircraft] really allows us to start to overcome the disadvantages of our geography,» said Gareth Evans, Chief Executive of Qantas International.
Qantas has had to rely on airplanes that couldn’t profitably make the journey between the continents without stopping. The Kangaroo route, as it became known, required multiple stops along the air corridor between Australia and the U.K.. In the 1930s the journey took as long as 11 days…
