Qantas’ longest flight is back to making a fuel stop for the foreseeable future, given current tensions in the Middle East.
Qantas forced to rethink Perth to London flight
Qantas operates a nonstop flight between Perth (PER) and London (LHR) with a Boeing 787-9. At 9,010 miles, this is Qantas’ longest route, and the fourth longest route in the world. With headwinds, this route pushes the limits of the Boeing 787 in the westbound direction, even with the premium configuration of Qantas’ Dreamliners (a premium configuration means the jet is lighter, and therefore can fly longer distances).
The westbound flight regularly takes around 18 hours, or in some cases even longer. Ordinarily, the flight departs Perth and then flies straight out over the Indian Ocean, then over the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Türkiye, and then across Europe.
With the current increased tensions between Israel and Iran, a lot of airlines are taking precautions in the region. As a result, Qantas is having to change its routing for this service. Unfortunately when you’re already pushing the range of the 787 under normal circumstances, there’s not much leeway there.
Suffice it to say that airlines have been dealing with quite some airspace challenges in recent times. Not only have we repeatedly seen concerns with airspace in the Middle East, but with Russian airspace closed to many airlines, indirect routings are becoming the norm.
Qantas will instead route this flight via Singapore
In light of the current situation, Qantas will be rerouting its Perth to London flight, with the westbound flight making a refueling stop in Singapore. This is the second time this year that such a rerouting has occurred, as the airline did the same back in April 2024.
As of now this is scheduled through August 20, 2024, though I imagine this has the potential to be extended. Ordinarily, this journey would operate with the following schedule:
QF9 Perth to London departing 6:30PM arriving 5:05AM (+1 day)
QF10 London to Perth departing 11:55AM arriving 11:40AM (+1 day)
Meanwhile during this rerouting, the flight will instead operate with the following schedule:
QF209 Perth to Singapore departing 2:10PM arriving 8:00PM
QF209 Singapore to London departing 9:45PM arriving 5:05AM (+1 day)
QF10 London to Perth departing 11:55AM arriving 11:40AM (+1 day)
As you can see, this new routing adds over four hours to the westbound journey time, including a nearly two-hour ground stop in Singapore. Meanwhile the eastbound flight will continue to operate nonstop. In terms of direct air distance, the Singapore stop only increases the distance of the journey by around 2%, as the routing with a stop covers a distance of 9,186 miles.
For those originating in Sydney or Melbourne, this means that it’ll be a two-stop routing to get to London. Keep in mind that Qantas also operates its Airbus A380 service from Sydney to London, with a stop in Singapore, so for those not originating in Western Australia, the A380 service will probably prove to be more direct.
Eventually Qantas will be taking delivery of Airbus A350-1000s, which will offer even more range than existing Boeing 787-9s. These will also be used to operate the world’s longest flights, from Sydney and Melbourne to New York and London.
Bottom line
For the time being, Qantas is adding a refueling stop to its Perth to London flight, given increased tensions in the region. For now this change has only officially been made for flights through August 20, though we’ll see for how long this lasts.
What do you make of Qantas rerouting its Perth to London flight?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.