travel

As of right now, you can buy non-stop flights from Australia to Europe.

A stopover is nobody’s friend. And now, if you’re flying to Europe from Australia, they don’t even have to be your acquaintance.

That’s because non-stop flights from Perth to London are now on sale.

Our national carrier, Qantas, announced in December it would be launching the new non-stop flight route on 24 March 2018.

Less than a year out, tickets for the 17-hour flight were available to purchase for the first time on Thursday.

Listen: This could be just the incentive you need to take that big holiday. (Post continues after audio.)

Flights will set economy passengers back $2341 for a return flight and $4250 for premium economy, while business class tickets retail for $9725 return. However, if you hold out for a sale, they’re likely to be less than $2000, according to the airline.

Passengers can expect to cruise aboard the airline’s new 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the third-longest passenger flights in the world.

And in good news for Melburnians in particular, the route QF9/10 to London officially originates in Melbourne. So Victorian travellers can hop aboard there and wait just 90 minutes before their final leg.

Meanwhile, other Australians will find connecting to the Perth-London flight simpler because it will depart from the domestic terminal.

qantas flight stall warning
Getting to London is about to be so much simpler. (Image via Getty.)
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In December, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce described the route as "a watershed for travel, tourism and trade".

"Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge," he said.

"It’s great news for travellers because it will make it easier to get to London. It’s great news for Western Australia because it will bring jobs and tourism. And it’s great news for the nation, because it will bring us closer to one of our biggest trade partners and sources of visitors."

And it's great news for those of us who like to (often fruitlessly) attempt a solid block of sleep during their flights.

Now if only we could get seats that somehow recline without invading other passengers' personal space (oh, and free noise cancelling headphones) we'd be set.