From March 24, 2018, Qantas Melbourne-London flights will no longer stop in Dubai. Instead, the QF9/10 rotation will now stop in Perth, beginning the first non-stop flights connecting Australia directly with Europe. The new routing will use the new Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, necessary for the ultra-long 17-hour flight. Due to be delivered later this year, the 787 seats considerably fewer passengers in a cabin that Qantas promises will be more comfortable.
Schedule and routing changes
Qantas has published the following revised schedule:
[table style=”table-condensed”]| Flight | Depart | Arrive |
| QF 9 MEL-PER | 15:20 | 17:20 |
| QF 9 PER-LHR | 18:50 | 05:10 |
| QF 10 LHR-PER | 13:30 | 13:15 (following day) |
| QF 10 PER-MEL | 14:45 | 20:10 |
Total Melbourne-London and Perth-London travel time will be the shortest of any airline. However the change means that Melbourne flyers lose a direct Qantas flight to Dubai, with those flights being taken over by Emirates. Emirates currently schedules 3 daily flights between Melbourne and Dubai. From March 25 next year, all flights on this route will be up-gauged to the Airbus A380, ensuring capacity to Dubai and onward to Europe remains available. Qantas flights from Sydney to Dubai and London (QF1/2) remain unchanged, leaving that as an option for those preferring Qantas metal. The extra Airbus A380s will subsequently be used to handle peak season capacity between Australia and Asia, namely Singapore and Hong Kong.
The new Perth-London route goes on sale today at qantas.com with year-round economy fares starting at AUD 2,270. While this may seem high, it’s worth remembering that these are the standard full fares. More competitive fares can be expected during sales.
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