Thursday, March 28, 2024
Book Flights
 

Air New Zealand heads to Chicago as United boosts Auckland service

Air New Zealand chicago route
Using Google translate to communicate with passengers is one of the tech projects being investigated by AirNZ. Photo: Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand will move into America’s heartland from November as launches its first service to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and deepens its alliance with United Airlines.

The new route, part of the Kiwi carrier’s push to extend its international services, comes as United announced it would extend its seasonal San Francisco service to year-round from April 2019.

United will operate will operate a three times weekly service that will complement Air New Zealand’s daily service. It will use a Boeing 777-300ER featuring its Polaris business class between November and March and B777-200ER between April and October.

Air New Zealand will operate the new ultra-long-haul route, which will take about 15 hours northbound and just over 16 hours southbound, three times weekly with newly configured Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Read Air New Zealand’s 10th Dreamliner is built for comfort.

Chicago is United’s home base and will Air New Zealand passengers access to about 100 code share destinations across the US.

Air New Zealand chief executive has long been of the option that there is an undeveloped tourism potential in the US and the new route will also allow the carrier to offer a new market to New Zealanders and Australians.

“We expect the addition of Chicago to our network to be an attractive option for Kiwis wanting to explore the city or head on to other North American destinations,” Luxon said in the announcement.

“As well as being great for travelers, this new route is good news for New Zealand, as we expect it to contribute around $NZ70 million annually to our economy and we know that more than 50 percent of spending by US visitors to New Zealand is done outside of the main centers.

“We’ll be working along side our colleagues at United Airlines to grow the route and visitor numbers in both directions.”

United international network vice president Patrick Quayle said the increased San Francisco service and the new Air NZ route would offer US passengers more ways to get to New Zealand.

“Today’s announcements are great examples of the customer benefits that result from the strong, strategic alliance and partnership between United Airlines and Air New Zealand,” he said.

Air NZ is pursuing a strategy to increase its services around the Pacific Rim and in February announced it would start non-stop flights to Tapei from November.

Read Air NZ expects its second-highest annual profit as it heads to Tapei.

It said at that time it expected international capacity growth in the second half of its financial year, which ends June 30, would be about 5 per cent.

 

How to survive ultra-long haul flights

How to survive ultra long hahul flight
How to survive an ultra long haul flight.

If there was a time to drum out the cliche “you get what you pay for”, it was after the first Qantas Perth to London 17hr 20 minute non-stop flight on Saturday, March 24.

The difference between a business suite or premium economy and economy on Qantas’ nonstop 787 Dreamliner route could be the difference between arriving ready to hit the sightseeing and sinking straight into a hotel room bed.

Yet if like most of us, your funds only stretch to the back of the bus, there are ways you can better your chances of being bright-eyed when you stroll through Heathrow Airport’s arrivals gate (or if you’re coming the other way to Perth).

Choose your seat early

Checking in online is the only way to go for this flight.

A window seat will give you the side of the plane to rest your head against when it’s lights out but there are other tricks too.

Exit rows are obviously the best for extra leg room (which I found an issue on this flight) and if you get a seat at either end of the middle trio of chairs you may get lucky like me and find the seat in the centre vacant – I’m told it’s considered one of the least desirable seats on the plane.

Start with a movie

While the who’s who in business class will enjoy being wined and dined from take-off, in economy class, it might take a few hours (in my case, until 10 pm Perth time) to get your first taste of food that’s not rice biscuits.

I found the first few hours of the flight the longest but, on Saturday’s inaugural flight, those who got stuck into the movies straight away said it was the best way to see off the first couple of hours and a handy distraction from the early turbulence we encountered due to a cyclone (But the rest of flight was silky as).

READ: Marathon economy flight quicker than expected. 

Limit the grog

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce may compare the first direct Perth to Britain route to Christmas Day.

If that were the case, Mr Joyce may have made himself the Christmas Grinch when he suggested to AirlineRatings.com that the best way to manage the flight was to stay off the booze.

But, there may be some truth in it.

I gave it a try myself, limiting myself to a mere one gin and tonic at the start of the flight. When you’re tired, jet-lagged and running of a diet of adrenalin and bread rolls, the last thing you want is a mini-hangover mid-air. Being hydrated surely has to help.

Perth London economy non-stop. How to survive?
Economy class on the 787.

Read

There’s nothing like a good book to make you feel like you’re on holiday. My favourite long-haul trick is to read the first 50 pages of a fresh book in the week before the flight and finish the rest on the plane.

The hours melt away when you’re deep into a good read and getting a head start pre-flight makes it much easier to pick up when you’re a little more tired than usual.

Read: Qantas to look at Perth to Paris next 

Follow the crew’s wacky schedule

The beauty of the Dreamliner is its anti-jetlag measures. Mood lighting, temperature changes and even the food are all rigged towards getting you in the correct routine on landing.

So, it’s not much use if you resort to sleeping when the food’s out and watching movies when the lights are dimmed.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy eating bacon butties in the middle of the night or sleeping when you’re told to but trying to sync yourself with the crew will make it a whole lot easier when the lights are switched on at the end of the flight.

Walk

Look at the time right now. Now, cast your mind back to 17 hours ago. What have you done since then? Been for a run? Walked around the office? Been to the gym?

You can’t spend 17 hours on your backside if not only for your health’s sake, for your sanity’s sake too. Take a stroll down to the pointy end of the plane, do a couple of laps and try and get your steps up. It helped me and I didn’t have even a little bit of swelling when we landed.

Talk

Tiredness brings out the worst in us all and there’s nothing like a long-haul flight to make that happen. A short, friendly chat with your fellow passengers is not only a nice thing to do, it can make you a little more understanding when they’re snoring or they’re struggling to control their children later in the flight.

But don’t be “that” person and try not to bother someone with their headphones on who clearly wants their own space.

How to survive long haul flight
Natalie Richards (right) taking selfie with a fellow passenger on Qantas QF9.

Avoid the flight map

They say a watched kettle never boils and a watched route tracker won’t budge any quicker either. You know what you’re signing up to when you book a 17-hour flight to why torture yourself by watching every minute drain by?

I tried to check it only a handful of times and every time I was pleasantly surprised to see how far we’d travelled.

Learn the seat facilities early on

This sounds painfully obvious but in an aircraft as fancy as this one, there may be something you’ve missed. The last thing you want to do is struggle to find a comfortable position for 16 hours, only to find the footrest in the final push.

Take a couple of minutes to watch Qantas’ video about your seat and see if there’s a way to make it a little more tolerable for yourself.

Consider noise-cancelling headphones

A fellow passenger on Saturday’s inaugural flight told me he was dreading telling his wife about the money he’d spent on noise-cancelling headphones at the airport.

Yet, later in the flight, he told me how he didn’t know how he’d survived long-haul flights without them.

If you’re a light sleeper, a pair will make that frustrating drone of the aircraft dissolve away. But, be warned, not even the best pair will block out the noise of a crying baby or noisy group of passengers. Otherwise, a good pair of earplugs (a step up from the foam ones Qantas provides) will come in handy.

Near miss prompts Air New Zealand call to jail reckless drone users

New Zealand
Photo: Steve Creedy.

A near miss between a drone and a Boeing 777-200 on descent into Auckland has prompted Air New Zealand to call for jail time for people who endanger lives with remotely piloted aircraft.

The incident on Sunday afternoon saw the drone pass so close to the aircraft that crew was worried it had been ingested by one of the engines, putting the safety of 278 passengers and crew at risk.

A subsequent inspection proved the drone did not enter the engine but estimates are the drone came within 5m (16ft) of the aircraft arriving from Haneda, Tokyo.

Drone owners are prohibited from operating the aircraft near airports and in controlled airspace used by commercial aircraft without clearance.

Air New Zealand said this was the second example of reckless drone use potentially endangering passenger safety this month.

Flight operations at Auckland airport were halted for 30 minutes on March 6 when one of the company’s pilots spotted a drone in controlled airspace.

Air New Zealand chief operations and integrity standards officer David Morgan said serious drone incidents were on the rise.

He said policy makers need to protect the traveling public with greater education, tighter regulation and stronger penalties for irresponsible operators.

“NZ92 was just metres away from a serious incident on Sunday,’’ Morgan said.

“The pilots spotted the drone at a point in the descent where it was not possible to take evasive action. It passed so close to the incoming aircraft that they were concerned it may have been ingested into the engine.”

“It’s clear the time has now come for tougher deterrents for reckless drone use around airports to safeguard travelers, including imposing prison terms in the case of life-threating incidents.”

Under current New Zealand regulations, individual drone operators who breach Civil Aviation Rules can receive a fine of up to $NZ5000.

New Zealand’s air navigation provider, Airways New Zealand,  said it was concerned about the increased number of drone sightings in contolled airspace and it was receivoing reports of at least one drone per week being operated illegally in controlled airspace.

“Air traffic control technology is currently unable to detect small objects such as drones so we rely on drone operators to follow the rules and register with us before they fly to ensure all aircraft are integrated safely into our airspace,” Airways NZ chief executive Graeme Sumner said.

“Drone detection technology is still in its infancy globally but Airways has been actively looking for solutions and we plan to begin trialling a new system within the next three months.”

The air traffic control operator said it had been operating a website for four years allowing drone operators to request flight clearances from air traffic  control and providing information where they could fly safely.

In that time, the number of drone flights logged with the system had increased from 30 to 600 per week and more than 7000 users were now registered.

The burgeoning use of drones has caused concerns about the technology’s impact on commercial aviation around the world.

Aviation agencies in a number of jurisdictions are looking at how best to regulate the machines, particularly among recreational users.

Incidents include a reckless drone operator who flew his aircraft within 300ft of a Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 performing a fly-past in Perth in 2017.

READ Drone targets Singapore Airlines A350.

The International Air Transport Association has also called on regulators to pay more attention to the problem.

“The great majority of drone owners operate their devices responsibly, but it is also the case that the number of incidents is rising,’’ IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac said at the time.

“There is significant work being developed at ICAO to produce standards for the larger drones that are equipped to share the airspace with manned aircraft.

“However, we need to ensure that the smaller drones, whether intended for recreational or commercial use, are kept out of airspace used for approach and landing operations of air transport. “

Fiji Airways continues record profit roll

Fiji AIrways record profit
Fiji Airways staff earned their bonuses in 2017. Photo: Fiji Airways.

The Fiji Airways Group’s roll of record results continued in 2017 with the company posting its highest ever pre-tax profit of $F95.8 million ($US47.1m)  for the financial year despite a competitive operating environment.

But chief executive Andre Viljoen has cautioned the outlook for 2018 is challenging as the airline copes with the headwinds of fuel price increases, increased competition and a volatile US dollar.

“Fuel prices will continue to be a challenge for all airlines and we will not get complacent with the fiscal discipline required to meet our financial targets,’’ Viljoen said.

“It will, however, be an exciting year for Fiji Airways as we become the first airline in the region to receive and operate the brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on our short-haul markets of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.”

Group revenue at the group — which also includes a telecommunications company, regional subsidiary Fiji Link and a 38.75 per cent stake in the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa —  rose 12.5 per cent to $F929 as the number of passengers increased 14.3 percent to 1.4 million.

The figures were good news for staff and management who received a 10 per cent rise in profit-share bonuses.

‘“2017 saw the achievement of numerous milestones for the Group,’’ Viljoen said. “The team increased the size of the fleet, launched a new route, increased frequencies on key long-haul routes and opened a world-class lounge at our home airport – Nadi.

“To achieve a fourth year of successive record profits is a massive achievement by the entire team of the Fiji Airways Group,” Viljoen said.

Milestones during the year included a deal to take five new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and the opening of a swish new business lounge at Nadi International Airport.

Read: Fiji Airlines lounge ensures the kids are all right.

Other highlights were the entry into service of three new DH6 Twin Otter aircraft, a new facility allowing guests to check in at the Sofitel resort and the upgrading of premium check-in counters.

From a network perspective, Fiji launched twice weekly services to Adelaide, Australia and increased frequencies to Singapore and San Francisco.

New codeshare agreements were concluded with Jet Airways, Hong Kong Airlines and Solomon Airlines while those with Cathay Pacific and Qantas were extended.

The new year will see a new service to Tokyo-Narita from July 3 and the arrival of the first two 737 Max 8s in November and December.

There will be further work on an aviation training facility featuring a 737MAX and an A330 simulator as well as on  an evaluation campaign for wide-body aircraft to augment or replace its Airbus A330 fleet.

“Each new initiative is a deliberate, considered action that meets the dual targets of ensuring sustainable profitability while fulfilling Fiji Airways’ role as a strong national carrier and an iconic Fijian brand,’’ Fiji Airways chairman Rajesh Punja said.

“Everything, from the benefits of having our own Aviation Academy with its future growth plans to the selection of a new wide-body fleet, is designed to meets the goals of both the airline and the nation.”

 

 

Boeing HorizonX targets Aussie nano-satellite company with first investment outside US

Myriota Satellite HorizonX Boeing
Myriota CEO Alex Grant with one of the company's low-cost, long-life satellite transmitters. Photo: Myriota.

An Australian startup that allows devices anywhere in the world to connect using small, low-earth orbiting satellites has become the first company outside the US to receive funding from Boeing’s HorizonX technology investment fund.

The Boeing fund participated in a $US15 million Series A funding round for Adelaide company Myriota, which has developed technology to reduce the cost of satellite technology used to connect devices across the “Internet of Things”.

Myriota uses a small battery-powered  transmitter to send small packets of data to a constellation of boxy, low earth orbit (LEO) nano-satellites.  The satellites orbit the Earth every 90 minutes at a distance of about 800kms.

The company uses the example of a micro-transmitter monitoring a water tank in outback Australia to illustrate how the technology works.

The transmitter only activates when needed, saving on battery power, and sends information to a satellite which sends this and other data packets back to Earth.

Software then sorts the packets and sends the relevant information to end-users, in this case telling a farmer his water tank is full.

“We formed Myriota to solve a major connectivity problem: hundreds of millions of devices that need to communicate but don’t have cost-effective, battery-friendly networks to do so,” said Myriota CEO Alex Grant said in the funding announcement.

“The scale of this investment, with strong domestic venture capital leadership and strategic participation by global investors is significant for Myriota, and our vision to deliver IoT connectivity for everyone, everywhere.”

The technology has a myriad of potential uses and ranging from aerospace to agriculture and resource companies. Myriota already has already received funding to develop black-box style recorders for use by Australian soldiers on the battlefield.

The current funding round involving Boeing was led by Australian firms Blue Sky Venture Capital and Main Sequence Ventures, which manages the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Innovation Fund. Other investors include Right Click Capital and Singtel Innov8.

“Part of the mission of Boeing HorizonX is to pursue and accelerate innovations coming out of startups around the world,’’ said Boeing HorizonX vice president Steve Nordlund.

“By investing in Myriota, we are proud to support Australia’s startup ecosystem and growing space industry.

“Myriota’s technology influences how we think about space-based communications and connectivity in remote locations.”

Investments by Boeing HorizonX so far have included autonomous systems, energy storage, advanced materials, augmented reality systems and software, machine learning and hybrid-electric propulsion.

READ Boeing invests in better battery power.

The aerospace giant has about 3000 employees in Australia and is active in other research, including a Queensland-based project with CSIRO that is the company’s largest autonomous systems development program outside the US.

Premium economy now available in paradise with Air Tahiti Nui

Air Tahiti Nui premium economy
Air Tahiti Nui will buy two Dreamliners and lease two. Photo: Boeing.

Air Tahiti Nui’s first foray into the growing premium economy segment is now on sale ahead of the replacement of its Airbus 340-300 fleet with fuel-efficient Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

The fleet renewal, which includes enhancements to the economy and business cabins,  is scheduled to begin with the arrival of the first three-class Dreamliner in November.

The other three are expected to be in service by September 2019.

READ our ratings for Air Tahiti Nui.

The Tahitian airline’s dedicated Moana premium economy cabin offers 32 Zodiac Aerospace seats with a 38-inch (96.5cms) seat pitch, a width of 19 inches and an eight-inch recline on a 2-3-2 layout.

Air tahiti Nui premium economy
The new premium economy seats. Photo: Air Tahiti Nui.

“We’re very excited to be introducing a new class to our airline with premium economy offering an option for those who want to experience extra comforts during their journey to and from Tahiti, while the Dreamliners new lie-flat seats will make our front-end offering more competitive and compelling for our premium guests,” Air Tahiti Nui regional manager Australia New Zealand Alan Roman said.

Zodiac is also supplying new economy class seats with a less spacious 31-inch seat pitch in a 3-3-3 configuration with a tighter 17.3-inch width.

However, the airline notes the Z300 seat has an articulating seat pan which makes it “one of the best next-generation long-range economy seats available today” and promises experienced travelers will notice the difference.

Air Tahiti Nui’s Poerava business class is getting a new Rockwell Collins Parallel Diamond fully-flat seat with plenty of storage areas and a seat pitch of 60 inches.

Air tahiti Nui business.

The 30 business seats are in a 2-2-2 configuration and will feature 16-inch hi-definition touch screens and Panasonic’s eX3 system. Travelers in premium economy will get 13-inch screens while those in economy class will measure 12-inches.

High-speed wi-fi will be available through Panasonic’s eXConnect satellite broadband during the airline’s short and long-haul flights from Tahiti to Auckland, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo.

The aircraft interior will also be redesigned to offer “a stunning new look that is distinctly Tahitian”.

 

Singapore Airlines takes delivery of the first Boeing 787-10

Rolls Royce
The first Singapore Airlines 787-10 in Charleston. Photo: SIA.

It’s one down and 48 to go as a crowd of about 3000 watched Singapore Airlines take delivery of its first Boeing 787 -10 at the US manufacturer’s plant in Charleston, South Carolina, Sunday.

The newest variant of the popular twin-engine composite plane is due to enter service next month with Osaka and Perth to become the first scheduled destinations in May. Prior to this, the aircraft will be operated on select flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur for crew training purposes.

The 787-10 is the biggest member of the 787 family and Singapore will be using it on medium-haul routes in a two-class configuration featuring 36 business class and 301 economy seats. Long-haul low-cost subsidiary Scoot already files the smaller 787-9 and 787-8 models.

The bigger variant cannot fly as far as the 787-9 — Boeing puts its range in a typical two-class configuration at 6430 nautical miles (11, 910km) as opposed to the 787-9s   6430 nm (14,140km) — but the company says it can still cover 90 percent of global commercial airline routes.

However, it promises a 25 percent fuel reduction per seat on the aircraft it replaces, up from 20 percent on its sister Dreamliners,  and Boeing claims it will beat the competition by 10 percent.

The Singaporean carrier is using the 787-10 to introduce new regional cabin products to be officially unveiled with the plane’s arrival in Singapore on March 28.

The new regional products  come after last year’s unveiling of a $US850m revamp to its Airbus A380 fleet.

READ The XL guide to Singapore Airlines’ new A380s.

“The 787-10 is indeed a magnificent piece of engineering and truly a work of art,’’ SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong Goh said at the delivery event. “It will be an important element in our overall growth strategy, enabling us to expand our network and strengthen our operations.

“The delivery of the first 787-10 underscores our longstanding commitment to operate a modern fleet, and marks the start of a new chapter in our shared story with Boeing.”

Singapore ’s firm order of 49 787-10s makes it the biggest customer for the plane and it also has orders for 20-777-9s due for delivery from the 2021/22 financial year.

Other 787-10 customers include Etihad, Emirates, British Airways  and Japan’s All Nippon Airways.

Since 2011, more than 640 Dreamliners have entered service, flying more than 230 million people on more than 680 unique routes around the world, saving an estimated 23 billion pounds of fuel.

Marathon economy flight was quicker than expected

Perth London economy non-stop
The economy cabin on the Perth-London flight.

The economy seat headrest is too high, or not high enough, my neck feels like it’s been kicked by a donkey’s hind legs and I’ve lost all feeling in my right leg.

 The much-hyped Dreamliner this may be but let’s get one thing clear, this is a long-haul flight and, as with all long-haul flights, there are places you’d much rather be – bed for a start.

Read: Qantas to look at Paris after conquering Perth-London non-stop.

 And while we’re talking about sleep, did I mention we have a few snorers on board?

 That said, these complaints are universal. But, if you’re sitting at the back of the bus, Qantas’ spanking new Dreamliner is about as good as it’s going to get.

Gleaming windows, just-upholstered economy seats and mechanisms that seamlessly click into place (no temperamental tray tables here), it’s hard not to be taken in by the shininess of the factory-fresh jet-lag beater we’d boarded.

Qantas economy Perth-London non-stop
The Dreamliner economy seats. Photo: Qantas.

 So, like everyone else, I started off my 17-hour marathon by doing what we all do when arriving somewhere new – pressing all the buttons.

 Gone are the old remote-control-on-a-wire handsets, like all things these days, everything is accessed through a touchscreen.

 An A-Z of Hollywood blockbusters, the flight map, podcasts, Sam Smith’s latest album and the trusty old reading light are all on a high-definition touch screen.

 They’ve thought of everything here, there’s a stand for your iPad, plug sockets and USBs and a netting foot cradle which would prove a godsend when the lights were dimmed.

But first, the food.

Read: Chocolate to help passenger health on marathon Qantas flight.

As a regular long-haul flyer, there have been many times I’ve relied on a mid-way stop to get myself a decent meal. As a person who suffers from serious “hanger” on an empty stomach, a lot was going to hinge on Neil Perry’s menu.

 The choices are undeniably fancy (salad of cumin spiced beef, anyone?) but do they deliver?

 I reckon they do. My vegetarian meal of Mediterranean vegetables and red rice seemed fresher than anything else I’ve eaten in the air. Meanwhile, my neighbouring passenger raised his eyebrows at lettuce that wasn’t soggy.

Qantas economy non-stop Perth London

 Later, veggie burgers and bacon butties (sorry, “baguettes”) make their way through the cabin – another popular choice and we were woken with a cooked breaky.

 But, it is plane food in the cheap economy seats after all. We’re eating with plastic cutlery and the cups of tea arrive in paper cups, this wasn’t Rockpool and it wouldn’t be on any other flight either.

 On a flight that takes off a few hours before bedtime and a restless cabin from having eaten after 10pm, sleep was going to be critical to prevent cattle class from descending into a scene from the Muppets.

 The cabin lights gently faded to a red glow after dinner and the temperature dropped, this was our cue to try and catch a bit of shut-eye.

 A disclaimer: I ended up with an empty seat next to me, which makes sleeping without a neighbour drooling on your shoulder a whole lot easier.

 Yet, those around me appeared to have nothing to complain about when it came to the width of the seats.

The legroom, however, was a common niggle. The second the seats went back, we were squished in inches of space. Watching a movie? Tough! You’d better get used to watching your favourite Hollywood stars in close-up.

 Then again, sleep is possible and this was way more comfortable than other economy class flights I’ve done. The foot cradle kept our feet elevated, the pillows were huge and the adjustable headrest was a nice touch – providing you could get it just right.

 As we reached the point where we’d be usually be expected a wander around a middle eastern airport, I was out cold. The last thing I wanted was to be thrust into the fluorescent airport lights shopping for duty free.

qantas non-stop economy Perth-London

 It’s for this reason the non-stop flight wins out for me. A family sitting near me would have had to disturb their children to traipse through security once again. The parents didn’t want it, the kids didn’t want it, nobody wanted it. We wanted to keep resting – and we could.

The service, as expected on a historic flight full of pollies and media, was exceptional. Teas and coffees were offered whenever they caught a passenger awake and they were happy to hop in and help when people like me struggled to work all the fancy buttons.

 One passenger did seem miffed there were no warm towels and another thought the tea cups weren’t big enough. Yet, their grins when we were only an hour from landing, were tough to hide. “I’m feeling fresh as a daisy, it’s that good air,” one passenger declared.

 As we hit the tarmac at Heathrow, there was a loud round of applause at the back of the plane and not only because the inaugural flight has made it in one stab (let’s be honest, we were all a tad nervous). It was over, far quicker than we expected.

qantgas London Perth non-stop economy

 Despite the snorers and aching necks, we’d made this world-first flight with a good three hours to spare, compared with our previous trips to the UK.

 Time enough to find a tea in a proper cup.

 

 

Qantas to look at Paris after conquering Perth-London non-stop

Perth London non-stop 787 Qantas
QF9 leaves Perth. Photo: Duncan Watkinson / Showcase Photographix.

Qantas will decide on a Perth to Paris non-stop service for late 2019 by December after evaluating nine months of operations of the London non-stop flight.

En route to London on the inaugural Perth to London flight on Saturday, the airline’s chief executive Alan Joyce told AirlineRatings.com that the Paris route – or another European destination such as Frankfurt – “would be evaluated against the success of the Perth to London service.”

Read Natalie Richards” Economy Class Review

And the signs look good.

“The response to the flight has been amazing, both for the attention it’s received and the bookings we’ve seen coming in,” said Mr Joyce.

“Bookings are particularly strong in premium classes and for the next month we have 90 percent load factor.”

Read: Qantas Boeing 787 defeats the tyranny of distance.

Mr Joyce added that the spread of bookings was about 60 per cent to or from Perth and 40 per cent to and from Melbourne and other ports.

Qantas used newest 787 Dreamliner ‘Emily’ to operate the inaugural service, which features a livery based on the artwork Yam Dreaming by Indigenous artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye.

But just in case of a technical glitch the airline had a plan B in the form of a second 787 ironically registered – VH-ZNB – sitting beside Emily at Perth Airport fueled up ready to go.

However, it wasn’t needed and push back was at 6.49pm – a minute early.

With Captain Jeff Foote, the pilot flying, taxi to runway 21 was effortless.

And so was the take-off,  which was met with hundreds of flashes from cameras from the thousands of well-wishers in the viewing area below, as the Boeing 787-9 streaked past and into history.

Throughout the cabin when the nose lifted signally flight there were cheers and clapping from the more than 220 passengers.

Tropical Cyclone Marcos, off the West Australian coast, tried its best to disrupt the flight with some light bumps but it only delayed festivities for an hour allowing passengers to get a head start on their movie marathon.

Qantas nonstop London
The route of the historic Perth-London flight. Photo: Geoffrey Thomas.

The Boeing 787’s much touted turbulence suppression smoothed out the jolts.

Once the seat belt sign was off the festivities kicked in.

Champagne flowed as many forgot – for a few hours at least – the University of Sydney’s great work on how to survive a 17-hour flight.

This was history.

The media roamed the cabin talking with the many enthusiasts on the flight.

There were a group of 6 who had flown to Melbourne to join QF9 at its origin.

Led by Amity Travel’s Luke Chittock, they had snared their bookings when the flight was operating its previous scheduled to London via Dubai.

Mr Chittock had the prized seat 1A and two of his fellow enthusiasts – Isabelle Chu and Brian Conway – had 2A and 3A.

The Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, took a back seat in 7F.

A veteran of many inaugural flights, Mr Chittock said that the 787 flight “was the best.”

“Everything about this flight has been brilliant,” said Mr Chittock.

Qantas Perth London non-stop
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (second from left) with Brian Conway, Isabelle Chu and Luke Chittock.

Those thoughts were echoed by Mr McGowan.

“This is an amazing flight and it’s great for WA and tourism to our state.”

“We must maximize on the opportunities this flight provides to see our marvelous beautiful state,” said Mr McGowan.

The Premier and Tourism Minister Paul Papalia have a whirlwind round of engagements in London and Europe to promote WA tourism.

Mr Papalia said that the non-stop London flight put Perth on the map with other countries such as China.

“Now other destinations we are targeting are taking us seriously,” Mr Papalia said.

Many passengers were on board because it was the first non-stop flight to London but those who were on by sheer chance, reveled in the steady stream of television cameras and photographers that passed by.

Perth london nonstop Qantas
AirlineRatings editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas on the flight.

British expat John Dewberry, who was travelling to visit family in the south of England, travelled with his wife Martina and children Isabel, 5, and Sam, 3, in economy.

“I think we’re the only family on board, we’re probably the only ones mad enough,” he quipped at the start of the flight.

Yet, just a few hours from the end, the children were rested and engrossed in children’s movie Coco.

“Isabelle’s slept loads… it’s going quite well,” he said.

“I think I prefer doing it this way, without a stop.

“It’s a hassle having to get everything off and go around the airport to get back on again.”

And that sentiment was broadly echoed throughout the cabin.

Read: Qantas’ healthy soothing lounge

Tom Harris in row 42C, also in economy, said he didn’t miss the [Dubai] stop at all.

“I could just stretch my legs walking around here in the cabin.

“It was a very comfortable and enjoyable flight,” said Mr Harris

The combination of the 787’s lower cabin altitude and higher humidity with the research done by University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre into foods and mood lighting appear to have won over passengers.

CNN’s Richard Quest summed it up well.

“Qantas have nailed ultra-long-haul flying by bringing science into the equation.”

“This is superb.”

Geoffrey Thomas travelled to London as a guest of Qantas.

 

The Turtle’s amazing journey

The Turtle's flight crew.
The Turtle's flight crew.

Mrs Jordan of Marine Parade, Fremantle baked a cake with red, white and blue icing and the South Perth Zoo gave them a kangaroo they really didn’t want.

For they were about to set a world distance record and every kilo counted.

But being obliging and polite, in September 1946, the US Navy pilots accepted the 16kg, 9-month old grey Kangaroo named “Joey” for their record-setting non-stop flight from Perth to Seattle and possibly Washington DC.

The flight crew made up of Commanders Eugene Rankin, Tom Davies, Walter Reid and Roy Tabeling were top US Navy pilots who were testing the capabilities of the new Lockheed Neptune patrol plane.

In fact, the plane to be used for the record flight, called “Turtle”, was the third off the production line.

The West Australian reported that Mrs Jordan’s cake even carried the inscription “To the Turtle’s Good Luck” and one of the pilots said; “It’s typical of the hospitality that the Perth people have given us since we’ve been here.”

The crew of the Turtle were overwhelmed with the friendless of Perth people who flocked to see the plane.

Many set up picnics to watch the test flying ahead of the record flight.

And those test flights highlighted a problem with the fuel-laden Turtle which could not sustain flight if one engine failed just after take-off.

At the time the two runways at Perth would have put the Turtle over Perth after take-off and a danger to residents, so the operation was moved to Pearce.

According to a paper authored by Captain Victor S. Gulliver, U.S. Navy (Ret.) the plane was known as “The Turtle,” after the Lockheed project to study extending its range.

A Disney cartoonist designed the famous nose art for the plane of a determined turtle astride a bicycle sprocket turning a propeller.

The Turtle was stripped. Off came turrets, guns, the main oxygen system, cabin heaters, much of the radio equipment and wing and propeller anti-icing and de-icing equipment was removed.

Additional fuel tanks were installed in the nose, rear fuselage, bomb-bay and wingtip tanks added.

In total, the plane could hold 8,525 gallons of fuel – more than 5,000 gallons more than a standard

Neptune making the plane 13 tons over its take-off weight.

To help it off the ground Rocket Assisted Take-off (RATO) units had been attached to the plane.

The Lockheed Neptune, named Turtle,
The Lockheed Neptune, named Turtle, in Perth before the record-breaking flight to the US. Colorised by Benoit Vienne.

On September 29, 1946 at 6:11pm, CDR Davies stood on the brakes as the throttles were pushed forward to maximum power.

At the other end of the 1.6km runway, he could make out the throng of news reporters and photographers.

According to Capt. Gulliver scattered across the air base were thousands of picnickers who came to witness the spectacle of a RATO take-off and who stood when they heard the sound of the engines being advanced to maximum power.

When the slowly advancing airspeed needle touched 87 knots, Davies punched a button wired to his yoke, and the four RATO bottles fired and the speed leapt to 115kts allowed the plane to take flight – but only just.

Read: Qantas breaks the tyranny of distance 

The Turtle lumbered out to sea over Rottnest to gain height before turning back to overfly Perth and the Darling Range and head for Alice Springs.

Next was Cooktown, the Coral Sea, southern New Guinea, Bougainville, and onto the vast and empty Pacific Ocean.

The crew’s only worry was Joey the kangaroo, who hunched unhappily in her crate and refused to eat or drink.

However by midday of the second day as they approached California CDR Reid came up to the cockpit smiling. “Well,” he reported, “the damned kangaroo has started to eat and drink again. I guess she thinks we’re going to make it.”

But while Joey was no longer a problem the weather was now becoming an issue.

Severe turbulence and headwinds were playing havoc with the fuel burn and while they were well passed Seattle, Washington DC was problematic.

By midday on the third day they concluded they could not safely stretch the flight all the way to Washington, DC and CDR Davies chose the Naval Air Station at Columbus, Ohio to be their final destination.

At 1:28 p.m. on October 1, the Neptune’s wheels once more touched the earth after 11,236 miles and 55 hours and 17 minutes.

The Turtle’s record for piston/propeller driven aircraft was only broken by Burt Rutan’s Voyager, a carbon-fibre aircraft, which made its historic around the world non-stop flight in 1986.

The Turtle is preserved at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola in Florida.

THE RATINGS YOU NEED!

AIRLINE SAFETY RATINGS
The only place in the world to get ALL Airline Safety Ratings in one place! The ONLY airline rating that includes Safety, Product and COVID-19 safety ratings! Visit our Ratings Now!

2024 Airline Excellence Awards

View our special section announcing the 2024 Airline Excellence Awards!

AIRLINERATINGS NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to have AirlineRatings.com Newsletter delivered to your inbox!

STAY CONNECTED

61,936FansLike
2,336FollowersFollow
4,714FollowersFollow
681FollowersFollow
Cookie settings