The history-making hop from Australia to Europe.

In 1947, Qantas started the Kangaroo Route from Australia to London. The name didn’t come from our iconic brand but from the number of hops (seven) that took to get there over four days. 

Over the decades, we kept making the route shorter by pushing the limits of what next-gen aircraft could do. The last big improvement was in 1989, when Boeing’s 747-400 took the route down from two stops to just one and the journey to just under one day. 

This weekend, we crossed that final frontier and made the trip from Australia (Perth) to London non-stop. A 17 hour journey in the most comfortable aircraft we’ve ever flown (yes, even in Economy). It’s the first regular direct link Australia has had with any part of Europe.  

It’s an achievement that doesn’t just belong to Qantas but to the aviation industry as a whole. To those who make the aircraft, and the engines, and all the support systems complicated machines require. To those who have tested the limits over the years and helped us learn. To the innovators.

It’s worth pointing out that a ticket on the original Kangaroo Route cost the equivalent of two years average wages at the time. It’s now more like one-and-a-half weeks wages.  

Ultimately, air travel is about people. So, the thing I’m most excited about is what a direct route between London and Australia will mean for all the friends, family, tourists and business travellers who are now a single hop from the other side of the world.