First direct Australia to UK flight prepares for take off

Flying from Australia to London in 1935 took 12 1/2 days. Passing a major aviation milestone on Saturday, Qantas Airways Ltd. will do it in 17 hours. The 14,498-km flight from Perth marks the first direct passenger service between the continents. It puts Europe’s financial centre one night’s sleep from the capital of Australia’s mineral wealth and the operations of hundreds of resources companies. For Qantas, the Perth connection is a high-profile test for a planned ultra long-haul network that the airline hopes will span the world by 2022. To succeed, the route must defy the boom-and-bust commodities cycle that has preyed on Western Australia. And Qantas needs business travellers to pay up for the shorter, one-hop flight to London rather than make a stop in Asia or the Middle East. “They’re targeting the business community that wants a seamless journey,” said Rico Merkert, professor of transport and supply-chain management at the University of Sydney. “It will be a game changer for the resources sector.”<br/>