Two hours better? http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...s-8131177.html

I enjoyed flying to the west coast. They put on a movie, then came round with drinks and snacks, then put on a movie, then came round with lunch, then put on a movie, then came round with drinks and snacks. Once I got into it I didn't want it to end


Yeah, that's why I hate travelling, the bit in the plane is actually the good part.

I think people are missing the point here...
At he mo you cannot fly from UK to Oz direct, so either
take a 7 hour hop and than an 8/14 (Perth/Brisbane) hour flight to Oz
or take a 17 hour direct flight to Perth.

Personally unless I needed to go to Perth, I'd take a stop over...just my choice

Singapore makes a great stop over too - they even provide free city tours and there is an airside hotel with a swimming pool.

Usually means flying on Singapore airlines - but they are worth the extra. They even give free Singapore Sling drinks with dinner.

You would probably go on a direct service to Sydney like the QF2 from Heathrow....rather than a change at Perth.

If flying in Economy then I like a stopover as 9 hours is about the limit of my tolerance. In Business I'd just want to do it non-stop. I was lucky enough to get an upgrade to Business on a non-stop flight to Hong Kong and I was having such a good time on board I really didn't want to get off the plane - it was like spending all day on the sofa with waiter service.

Thanks, that was good read.

17 hours is a massive improvement although still too much for a lot of people who can't afford business or first class. It still might feel better to break that in half in Dubai or somewhere.

I did my back in after 12 hours in economy class from Heathrow to Hong Kong, followed by 9 hours to Sydney a couple of days later. I'm not sure I could handle 17 hours straight but it's good the option is there.

Yes. Though please visit Perth if you wanna see what the East Coast was like in the 1970's.

Racism and homophobia still abound in Western Australia.

I flew from London to Sydney via Moscow many years back. The ticket was dirt cheap, so I thought it would be a great bargain. The scheduled 3 hours stopover in Moscow turned into 13 hours, and another stopover in the far east that I wasn't even aware of. By the time I got to Sydney I was done in. Aeroflot's in-flight service left a lot to be desired back then.

Not one of my better ideas. Since then (If I can help it) I avoid all flights that go anywhere near any of Moscow's airports.

As for the 17 hours. I'd definitely do that, but I wouldn't want to go back to Perth, so it would still involve a change to get to other side of Australia. I'd rather stop off in Singapore or Dubai than Perth.

The Vodka was dirt cheap though. I got a 2 litre bottle for £2

Tokyo was London prices, or more.

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Further to trans-atlantic flying and prevailing winds there is a remarkable story of an early post war flying boat flight from UK to USA in 1946 where the navigator got the fuel, maximum all up weight and especially wind speed seriously wrong whereby they ran out of fuel half-way over the Atlantic and were forced to ditch in a heavy sea with 69 passengers and 2 infants on board. The aircraft involved was a Boeing - The Bermuda Sky Queen.

17 hours in economy!?!

The most I've done in one leg is about 12 hours and that was almost unbearable by the end.

I think I'd rather do the stopover. Also, what would the demand be for flights to Perth? Sydney and Melbourne are much more likely cities for people to want to fly in than Perth.

Although I guess the reason Perth was chosen is because it is the 'closest'.

That's right. Perth is at the limit of the range of these new planes. Sydney or Melbourne would be impossible.

Apparently Qantas are going to be charging a premium for this non-stop service as it will cost them more in fuel and crew so it is likely that many passengers will still prefer to do a stop over to save money and be able to stretch their legs.

I hate long haul flying, I can never sleep on the plane. Last flight to Sg I took a sleeping pill and had glasses of red, but still couldn't sleep, it just put me in an awful mood.

This was a pre-war Boeing 314 flying boat. They landed close to a US weather ship which picked up the passengers and crew and then sank the aircraft with gunfire as it was deemed a hazard to navigation!

Same, I can't sleep on flights at all. I tend to be utterly exhausted by the time we land

Have done Heathrow to Melbourne (& return legs) a couple of times now in the economy seats and they fine. I just over 6ft & have a knackered back but the journey was fine. First time was via Singapore and the 2hr break in the middle was fine. Reasonably nice passenger lounge to amble around to stretch your legs and easy to disembark re-board the plane when needed. Second time was via Dubai (I think) and was a real pain in the arse. Took ages to get into the lounge when the plane landed as we had to go through security. Then it was quite a walk to get anywhere before having to turn around, hit security again 60 minutes before take off to be sat in a dull, holding area without refreshments, toilets or entertainment. was not a happy bunny!
First time I went was weird. was so hyped about the trip only had about 6-7 hours sleep in total over the two preceding nights, then dozed for about 1-2 hrs only on the flight. landed at 6am and stayed up until about 7pm to get back into a rhythm. All in it was about 8hrs sleep over an 80hr period. It was horrible & like being drunk without any of the benefits. I kept walking into things, fell down the stairs where we were staying with relatives & could barely string 3 words together. Next morning after 16hrs sleep I was absolutely fine!
2nd trip was better, slept quite a bit in the plane and before too!

As for Qantas flying direct to Perth, that's got to be good for the company & Australia. Would imagine that the'll expand that service and use Perth as the stopping point to get to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide & even New Zealand too. Keeps the airport fees in Australia, provides employment etc & also may bring more tourist to Perth for a 24hr stop over instead of Singapore/Dubai etc

>>>

Quite by chance a couple of years back while scrolling the net on a pilots board I made contact with one of the babes in arms, by now a grown woman who was rescued from the Boeing (which incidentally took place in 1947, not 1946) as she was writing a book on the event and wanted to hear from others involved on the flight.