Australians will be able to fly to Paris directly, in a little over 17 hours, with Qantas offering services to the European capital for the first time in 20 years.
The new direct flights between Perth and Paris, which began this week, cut around three hours off the current fastest travel time between the two cities and is the longest non-stop flight to France from anywhere in the world.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said flights would initially operate four times per week over the busy European summer and Olympic and Paralympics, before moving to three services per week from mid-August.
Ms Hudson said the new route would add an additional 75,000 seats between Australia and Europe each year.
She said the national carrier’s return to Paris followed on from the success of its other non-stop services into Europe.
“In recent years we have seen a significant increase in customers wanting to fly direct on long haul routes and avoiding stopovers wherever possible. Our direct flights from Perth to London and Rome have some of the highest customer satisfaction on our international network,” Ms Hudson said.
“With these new flights, our customers can depart Perth in the evening and arrive in Paris in time to enjoy brunch overlooking the Eiffel Tower.”
Ms Hudson said the new service would be operated on the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which has been specially designed for long-haul travel.
“All passengers benefit from large windows, high cabin humidity and relaxing mood lighting to help them feel more refreshed when they land.”
She said the 14,264km distance would be covered in 17 hours 20 minutes.
