Qantas has successfully launched first nonstop flight between Australia and France.
Flight QF33, departed Perth (PER), in Western Australia, on the evening of July 12, 2024, and landed at Paris CDG airport 16 and a half hours later, at 6.20am in the morning of July 13 (all times local).
This service, which is operated with Boeing 787-9 aircraft, is Qantas’ third nonstop route between Australia and Europe. The other two link Perth to London Heathrow (LHR) and Rome (FCO).
The new Paris service will operate four time weekly during the 2024 Summer Olympics, which take place in the French capital, and the peak Northern Hemisphere summer season. From mid-August it will become a thrice-weekly service.
The B787-9 aircraft that operate this ultra-long haul service are fitted with a three class cabin with 42 Business, 28 Premium Economy and 166 Economy class seats.
Qantas claims that with its new Paris service it offers travelers an option to travel between Paris and Perth that is three hours faster than the current fastest alternative.
The Australian airline returns, this way, to the French capital after a two-decade hiatus.
However, this nonstop link to Western Australia may be just a harbinger of things to come. Paris is one of the cities included in Qantas’ Project Sunrise, a plan to link Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL) to several destinations that are currently out of range from Australia’s two largest cities.
Airbus A350-1000 aircraft with a cabin specially designed for the nearly 20-hour long flights will be deployed on Project Sunrise routes from 2026 onwards.