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Tickets for first non-stop flights between London and Perth finally go on sale – but how much will they cost?

The route will be one of the world's longest when in launches next March - QANTAS
The route will be one of the world's longest when in launches next March - QANTAS

Tickets for the world’s first non-stop flights between London and Perth have gone on sale.

Set to launch in March 2018, the new route will cover 9,000 miles, transcend eight time zones and take up to 18 hours, which is long enough to read Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations or, if you’re that way inclined, watch La La Land eight times over.

But the question we all really want to know the answer to is: how much do tickets cost?

It would be possible to watch La La Land eight times over during the flight - Credit: Dale Robinette
It would be possible to watch Oscar-winning La La Land eight times during the flight Credit: Dale Robinette

Well, according to Qantas’ website, passengers looking to take off on the inaugural flight, which departs London on March 25, and return a fortnight later, can expect to pay £1,344.47. However, Qantas told Telegraph Travel that typically return fares will start from £1,095, and drop to around the £900 mark during deal periods.

By way of comparison, Cathay Pacific is currently offering return flights between London and Perth, via Hong Kong, for £648. Passengers opting for these tickets would face a seven hour wait in Hong Kong on the way out and nine hours on the way back.

The new non-stop flights from London to Perth will use the brand new Boeing 787-9, which seats up to 236 passengers. It will be the first regular passenger service to directly link Australia with Europe.

At 9,008 miles it won’t quite be the world’s longest non-stop flight – that accolade goes to Qatar Airways’ Doha to Auckland service, which clocks in a 9,028 miles.

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“We’re conscious that this is a long flight, but not much longer than our Sydney to Dallas service,” said Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce. “It’s the kind of route that the Dreamliner was created for, because of its built-in features to reduce jet lag and improve the overall travel experience.”

Those features include larger windows, to allow in more light, better sound proofing, a more advanced air filtration system and, crucially, more leg room. 

Whether these attributes will persuade passengers to spend £1,300 odd on a ticket and 18 hours on a plane remains to be seen.

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