Twenty years after Qantas’ last flights to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport, the Australian flag carrier is returning to the French capital – just in time for the Olympic Games 2024.
Under 17 hours
Qantas’ first non-stop flight to Paris in two decades took off from Perth on Friday 12 July 2024, two weeks before the start of the sporting extravaganza. After flying 14,300 kilometres (8,865 miles), the aircraft, named Great Southern Land, touched ground at Charles de Gaulle Airport at 6:20 am on Saturday. Flown with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the new direct route is slated to take around 17 hours and 20 minutes, though the inaugural flights came in at under 17 hours.
Set to operate four times a week during the Olympic period and dropping to three flights later in August, the service will shave three hours from the current fastest flight time between Paris and Perth, but will still become the sixth longest in the world, sitting behind Singapore Airlines’ two New York routes, Qatar Airways Auckland to Doha, and two other Qantas routes, from Perth to London Heathrow, and from Melbourne to Dallas Fort Worth. Qantas now have four of the world’s top 10 longest flights, with its Air New Zealand partnered Auckland to New York route also in the mix.
Long-haul comfort
The choice of the Boeing Dreamliner, despite Boeing’s current safety woes, is explained by the aircraft’s reputation for long-haul comfort. Configured with just 236 seats, (166 in economy, 28 in premium economy, and 42 in business class), the Dreamliner offers more legroom, larger windows, reduced cabin pressure and increased humidity, as well as adjustable mood lighting. The overhead lockers are also bigger than in other craft, helping passengers store and access their items with less hassle.
However, other new routes of up to 22 hours from Australia’s east coast to London and New York are due to fly with the new Airbus A350-1000, but delivery of those has been delayed until mid-2026.
Perth breaks passenger numbers record
Connections to Sydney and Melbourne make the route a promising gateway to Australia, as per a new agreement between the airline and airport to grow Perth’s importance as a national and international hub. The multi–billion dollar deal will see Perth gain a new runway and terminal, and position it just behind Sydney as Australia’s second largest airport.
On the same day as the inaugural flight to Paris, Perth broke its passenger numbers record for the year to June 30, handling more than 16 million flyers for the first time. The previous record of 14.9 million dates back to 2013-14.
