Qantas teases possible nonstop services from Sydney and Melbourne to UK and US east coast

Qantas Airways Group announced (25-Aug-2017) it is investigating nonstop services from the east coast of Australia to London and New York by 2022. The carrier stated a "challenge has been given to Airbus and Boeing to give their next generation aircraft currently under development - the A350ULR for Airbus and Boeing's 777X - the range to make these nonstop flights possible with a full passenger load". Qantas stated a nonstop service would cut total journey time by up to four hours for Sydney-London and almost three hours for Melbourne-New York. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce commented that the carrier's planned Perth-London service, due to commence in Mar-2017 "is a huge leap forward" and the airline believes that "advances in technology in the next few years will make Sydney to London direct a possibility and Qantas is well placed to be the airline to do it". Mr Joyce cautioned that "any aircraft purchase would have to meet strict financial thresholds", but believes direct services "would be revolutionary for air travel in Australia." [more - original PR]