The first non-stop flights from the UK to Australia will begin in March 2018, Qantas has confirmed. 
 
 The airline will use Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners to cover the 9,000 miles (14,498km) from Perth in Western Australia to London, with flights taking around 17 hours. While the new route will not be the world’s longest - that honour goes to Air India for its 9,506-mile (15,300km) service from Delhi to San Francisco - it will be the first direct service between the two countries. 
 
 "When Qantas created the Kangaroo Route to London in 1947, it took four days and nine stops," Alan Joyce, Qantas chief executive, told a news conference yesterday. “Now it will take just 17 hours from Perth non-stop.” 
 
 The announcement had been widely expected. Telegraph Travel reported in 2015 that Qantas was aiming to launch flights between London and Perth within two years. In October we reported that confirmation was imminent. 
 
 It is hoped that the service will boost tourism to Western Australia. The UK is Australia’s third largest source of overseas arrivals with around 660,000 Britons visiting last year. 
 
 Perth has experienced rapid growth in recent years Credit: Taras Vyshnya VladZetter@gmail.com/Taras Vyshnya 
 
 Perth, one of the most geographically isolated cities in the world, has a “distinct personality, shaped by its outdoor-loving residents that not only adore the glittering coastline (and plenty of Australia’s best beaches), but also the fabulous little restaurants and slick wine bars that have been popping up over the past few years,” says Fleur Bainger, Telegraph Travel’s expert to the city. “The latter are a product of an unprecedented population boom – more than 1,000 people move to Perth each week. The new blood has inspired a hipper, more cosmopolitan place. And what’s not to love about a city that soaks up 3,000 hours of sunshine a year.” 
 
 Qantas also wants Perth to serve as a hub for passengers travelling between eastern Australia and the UK. Currently, most of those making the journey fly via the Middle East or the Far East. 
 
 The new service will be made possible by the new 787-9 Dreamliner, which has a longer range than other aircraft in the airline's existing fleet. It will take delivery of its first 787-9 in late 2017; other new routes being considered by Qantas include Sydney-Chicago and Melbourne-Dallas. 
 
 The aircraft will have room for 236 passengers, including 42 in business class and 28 in premium economy. 
 
 Features include new two self-service bars - one in business and one in economy, a “foot net” to provide extra support for weary limbs, and fully redesigned seats. The aircraft will feature a new Qantas logo, too. 
 
 Business class seats will recline to 80 inches, while seat pitch in economy will be 32 inches. Other features typical of the Dreamliner include high-tech cabin lighting, with a simulated sunrise to “gently wake customers on morning flights”, and larger windows that can be adjusted using electronic controls. 

 The airline with the kangaroo on its tail is losing a bounce. 
 
 Air travelers will be able to fly from Australia to Europe without stopping after Qantas announced the first direct passenger route between the two continents. 
 
 Boeing (BA)'s 787-9 Dreamliner will make the epic 17-hour journey between London and Perth, a city on Australia's remote west coast, Qantas (QABSY) said. 
 
 The airline plans to launch the service in March 2018, joining the ranks of the world's longest passenger flights. 
 
 Related: The world's longest airline routes 
 
 "This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement. "Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge." 
 
 Flying between Australia and the U.K. has long been a holy grail for Qantas, which has had to hop through Singapore and Dubai more recently to get to Europe on its "Kangaroo Route." 
 
 Joyce contrasted the new flight with Qantas' original Australia-to-London service that it introduced nearly 70 years ago. That one was a whole lot slower, taking four days and involving nine stops along the way. 
 
 Qantas said the Perth-London service -- at 9,009 miles (14,498 kilometers) -- is expected to be one of the longest passenger flights in the world when it goes live. 
 
 Until now, the flight was never economically feasible. The brutal winds going eastbound forced more fuel to be carried, while sacrificing valuable cargo or even leaving seats unfilled. 
 
 In commercial air travel, sometimes the shorter-duration flight actually covers more ground. 
 
 That's true of the current record holder for distance. Air India's service between New Delhi and San Francisco that flies over the Pacific rather than the more typical route over the North Pole. At 9,408 miles (15,140 kilometers), the Pacific path is a lot longer, but it actually saves fuel and time by taking advantage of the tailwinds provided by the high-altitude jet stream. 
 
 In February, there will be a new reigning champion for longest flight by duration when Qatar Airways flies from Auckland to Doha, scheduled for 17 hours and 45 minutes. 
 
 Related: Boeing sells 80 jets to Iran Air in $16 billion deal 
 
 Qantas' Perth-London route will be the world's longest using the Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011. 
 
 A host of new ultra-long distance routes have been opened up with a new generation of fuel-efficient Boeing and Airbus (EADSF) aircraft. Singapore Airlines (SINGF) restarted direct service to the U.S. recently with the Airbus A350, a route also now flown by United Airlines and its 787. 
 
 The Australian airline has pulled off longer flights in the past. In 1989, it flew a Boeing 747-400 all the way from London to Sydney, setting a record for the world's longest commercial flight at 11,185 miles (18,001 kilometers). 
 
 But that wasn't a scheduled flight. The 20-hour journey was a one-off event, and the jumbo jetliner only carried 23 people, including crew. 
 
 The Perth-London route is the first time regular passengers will be able to book non-stop flights between two continents.
– Qantas' course from the UK to Australia has long been known as the "Kangaroo Route" as it means bouncing around to various places including Singapore and Dubai. But not for long. The Australian airline says it will be the first to offer non-stop 17-hour flights from Perth to London beginning in March 2018. The flights will take advantage of the long range of Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliner, to arrive in late 2017, which will also offer larger windows, self-service bars, and a kind of hammock for passengers to rest their feet. That's not a bad idea as the 9,000-mile flight could be the world's longest commercial flight by duration, reports the Telegraph. Air India's flight from Delhi to San Francisco covers 9,500 miles but takes less time at about 14.5 hours. Some might consider 17 hours in the sky to be a form of torture, but it's a wink compared to the four-day journey through nine cities Qantas first offered in 1947, reports the BBC, adding that the Dreamliner's 236 passengers will now have time to watch 18 episodes of Game of Thrones or read a third of War and Peace. The flight is also slightly shorter than Qantas' one-time, record-breaking flight from London to Sydney, which covered 11,185 miles in 20 hours in 1989. "This is a game-changing route flown by a game-changing aircraft," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says, per CNNMoney. "Australians have never had a direct link to Europe before, so the opportunities this opens up are huge." (Not up for such a lengthy flight? Try this 8-minute one.)