Wednesday night saw Australia’s flagship carrier Qantas achieving another major milestone when one of its Boeing 787-9 airplanes departed Perth on a non-stop journey to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport. The Dreamliner (registered VH-ZNF) took off at 22:34 local time arriving at 08:19am local time and completed the journey 20 minutes ahead of schedule and in shy under 16 hours. Not only was this flight so significant in that it was the first service to the Italian capital serviced by Qantas since it last operated the route between 1948 and 2003 it also marked the first direct flight commercial flight between Australia and continental Europe and now complements Qantas’s hugely popular flagship Perth to London direct services first launched in 2018. The inaugural flight was marketed as a ‘Points Plane’ flight meaning any Qantas Frequent Flyer could redeem classic flight awards on any seat. This meant Economy class Reward seats could be redeemed for 41,900 points +$225, Premium Economy for 81,300 points +$315 and Business Class for 108,400 points +$435. Whilst certainly harder to find such redemptions are still occasionally available for future flights so it pays to keep a look out especially as flights may be released ahead of next year’s peak European holiday season The first ‘official inaugural’ flight with all the fanfare will actually be tomorrow night (Saturday June 25) and will attract Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and a list of dignitaries including WA Premier Mark McGowan among others who will sample the ground breaking route for the first time .
Like with the bulk of Qantas long haul destinations the flight is operated with a Boeing 787-9. The aircraft can carry 236 passengers, including 166 in economy class, 28 in premium economy, and 42 in business class. The airplane also services Qanat’s other long-range routes to London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas amongst others. The flight originates in Sydney taking off at 17:50pm local time before transiting in Perth enroute to the late night departure from Perth. On the return, the flight takes off from the Italian Capital at 10.50am arriving into Perth 8.35am before continuing on to Sydney for a 16.05pm arrival local time.
The seasonal Sydney-Perth-Rome route will operate thrice-weekly from June 22, 2022, using the carrier’s B787 Dreamliner aircraft operating initially over the European summer season from June 22 to October 6 and will be reviewed for its suitability to perhaps return over next year’s peak travel period. Like Qantas’s other Perth International services the flight will depart from Qantas’s custom designed Terminal 4 International Departures lounge which is separate from the main International Terminal in Perth and essentially an extension to Qantas’s Domestic TT3 and T4 terminals. Qantas operate a purpose-built international transit lounge in Perth offering both those starting or continuing their journey through Perth from elsewhere in Australia a premium lounge experience before the flight for business travellers or those with Qantas Club membership Gold Status or higher or equivalent One World or other status with partner airlines. The start of this new route to Rome signifies the biggest expansion of Qantas’s international presence in Perth for quite some time with Singapore, London and Rome all being directly serviced by the Flying Kangaroo with new services to Jakarta and Johannesburg to add to the mix beginning in November this year. This comes only recently after the earlier than expected resumption of the Perth to London direct service in May, which has been hugely successful.
Over a two-year period, the WA government expects the route to attract more than 3,700 extra visitors to Perth, generating an approximate additional visitor spend of $7.7 million and is supported by the WA McGowan Government through Tourism WA, as part of its $75 million Aviation Recovery Fund within the $195 million Reconnect WA package.
