Qantas receives first of eight Boeing 787-9s to open up direct Perth-London route

National airline Qantas has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in Seattle, an airliner which will facilitate non-stop flights from Perth to London.

A total of eight Dreamliners will be delivered to Qantas by the end of 2018, enabling the retirement of five of the airline’s 747s.

Two Dreamliner routes have been announced so far – Melbourne to Los Angeles starting in December this year and Perth to London starting in March next year. Additional flights from Brisbane have also been flagged.

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Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “Taking delivery of a new type of aircraft is always an important milestone for an airline and the 787 is a game-changer. From the distance it’s able to fly, to the attention to detail we’ve put into the cabin design, it will reshape what people come to expect from international travel.

“The Dreamliner makes routes like Perth to London possible, which will be the first direct air link Australia has ever had with Europe. And it means other potential routes are now on the drawing board as well.”

Qantas also recently revealed its intentions to run flights out of Los Angeles with biofuel by 2020, a move which could see emissions cut by half.