Dreamliner Just Landed a Historic Flight

The maiden flight of a new nonstop regular passenger service between Australia and Britain has touched down at London's Heathrow Airport, reports the AP. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, operated by Qantas Airways, arrived Sunday in London just over 17 hours after setting off from the western Australian city of Perth. The new link with Perth—a 9,009-mile journey, about 20 miles short of the world's longest route between Auckland and Doha, notes the Telegraph—is around three hours quicker than routes that involve stopovers in the Middle East to change planes or refuel. It is also set to shorten journeys from London to Sydney or Melbourne, compared with flying via Dubai. The route is about a quarter more than Britain's previous longest service—7,275 miles—which was flying between London and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. For tips on surviving a 17-hour flight, head to Sky News. (More Boeing 787 Dreamliner stories.)