Qantas has announced that it is to start operating non-stop flights from Perth to London using the 787-9 Dreamliner from March 2018.
This adds to the growing lists of firsts for the company, as it represents the first regular passenger service to directly link Australia with Europe.
Other Qantas firsts include the passenger jet services across the Pacific in 1959 with a B707 and the first and only non-stop passenger flight from London to Sydney in 1989 with a B747.
Qantas was also the first to operate the world's largest passenger aircraft - the A380 - on the world's longest route - Sydney to Dallas - in 2014.
The 14,498 km service will be the shortest and fastest version of the Kangaroo Route the national carrier has operated in its 70 year history.
Journeys made by the 787-9 Dreamliner will take approximately 17 hours - with some flights shorter or lasting longer depending on winds.
It will be the third-longest passenger flight in the world, the longest Dreamliner flight in the world and the longest flight on the Qantas network, followed only by the non-stop A380 Sydney to Dallas service at 13,730 km.
Alan Joyce, chief executive officer of Qantas, said the landmark new route will be a boon for travel, tourism and trade.
He pointed out that when his company launched the Kangaroo Route to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops - so the 17 hours non-stop flights offered from 2018 will be a considerable improvement.
"This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft. Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge," Mr Joyce remarked.
"It's great news for the nation, because it will bring us closer to one of our biggest trade partners and sources of visitors."
