Here's the Boeing jet that will become a vital link between Australia and Europe
Next March, Qantas will inaugurate its new non-stop flight from Perth, Western Australia to London. The first ever non-stop flight between Europe and Australia.
"When Qantas created the Kangaroo Route to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement during the flight's announcement last December. "Now it will take just 17 hours from Perth non-stop."
In fact, the 9,008 mile-long flight will be the third longest scheduled commercial flight in the world, right after Air India's 9,400-mile flight from Delhi to San Francisco and Qatar Airways' 9,032-mile flight from Doha to Auckland, New Zealand.
The Perth to London route will overtake the airline's 8,531-mile non-stop flight between Sydney and Dallas, Texas. That flight is operated by Airbus A380 superjumbos.
Last week, Boeing rolled out the new plane Qantas will use to operate the Perth to London flight, a 787-9 Dreamliner. It's one of eight Dreamliners Qantas has on order.
The Sydney-based airline is expected to take delivery of the plane on October 16 before it enters service in December on Qantas' flight between Melbourne and Los Angeles.
Here's a closer look at Qantas' shiny new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.