Summary
- Qantas launches new nonstop service from Perth to Paris, cutting hours off travel time.
- Project Sunrise brings Australians closer to global destinations with nonstop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.
- Qantas offers Dreamliners equipped for long-haul comfort with unique amenities for the new Paris route.
Australians are another step closer to Europe now that Qantas has launched its new nonstop service from Perth to Paris, arriving in the City of Light for the first time in 20 years. The Boeing 787 service cuts around three hours off the current fastest travel time between Perth and Paris and is the longest nonstop flight to France from anywhere in the world.
Project Sunrise edges closer
While the Qantas nonstop flights from Perth to Paris, London and Rome are stand-alone routes in their own right, for the majority of Australians who live on the East Coast, they are warm-ups for Project Sunrise services. Those flights will operate nonstop from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York and put Australians within reach of any global destination, ending the need for a stopover in Perth, Singapore or Auckland.
Photo: Steve Worner | Shutterstock
Qantas operates the outbound service as QF33, which originates in Sydney and has a scheduled stopover in Perth of 2:35 hours. According to tracking data from Flightradar 24, on July 12, Qantas flight QF33 departed Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) at 14:41 and arrived in Perth at 17:05 after a 4:24 hours flight. While the aircraft on this leg will change, it is currently flown with the same Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that continues to Paris.
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The exciting part happened when QF33, operated with a 2017 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, registration VH-ZNA and MSN 39038, departed Perth Airport at 19:53. The Dreamliner, named Great Southern Land, took 16:27 hours to cover the Great Circle distance of 8,865 miles (14,300 kilometers) to Paris, landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) at 06:20 on Saturday.
The return service, QF34, was flown with the same 787-9, which departed Paris on Saturday at 11:05 and arrived in Perth at 08:37 on Sunday after a 15:31 hour flight. The aircraft left Perth at 10:29 and arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport at 15:54, heading for San Francisco as QF 73 at 21:33.
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The new route will operate four times weekly over the peak (northern) summer season, starting just in time for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. From mid-August, it will revert to three times weekly and add 75,000 seats between Australia and Europe annually.
Photo: Qantas
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the new service had generated much excitement among customers and crew, particularly as it is nonstop from Perth to Paris. She added that the route had been resurrected following the success of the national airline’s other highly successful nonstop flights from Perth to Europe.
“In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in customers wanting to fly direct on long-haul routes and avoiding stopovers wherever possible. Our direct flights from Perth to London and Rome have some of the highest customer satisfaction on our international network.”
The right aircraft for the route
Qantas has fourteen Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in its fleet that it uses on nonstop flights between Australia and destinations including London, Paris, Rome, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Santiago, as well as Auckland to New York JFK. These 787s are built for comfort and long-haul flying, with a roomy configuration of just 236 seats, including 42 in business, 28 in premium economy and 166 in economy.
Photo: Qantas
Qantas selected the Dreamliner with these sorts of nonstop long-haul services in mind, carrying out numerous studies around jetlag and sleeping patterns to design the cabin experience. The reduced cabin pressure with higher humidity, larger windows, changeable mood lighting and larger overhead lockers are there to help passengers arrive feeling fresher and ready to go.
To get the Paris service off to a Gallic start, Qantas has launched some special treats, including limited edition designer pajamas with matching amenity kits. Business class guests will enjoy a menu curated by celebrity chef Neil Perry that includes classic French dishes such as Bouillabaisse of Snapper and Skull Island Prawns and a French 75 cocktail.
Passengers can also immerse themselves in more of the Paris experience, with a unique selection of French movies set in the city, including Amélie and Midnight in Paris, on the international in-flight system throughout July.
Qantas has often said that these nonstop European flights will continue even after the Project Sunrise flights launch from the East Coast. Travelers across Australia can easily connect to Perth via the Qantas domestic network of more than 60 destinations, giving them even more reasons to anticipate the 2026 arrival of the new ultra-long-range Project Sunrise Airbus A350s that will fly the routes.