What Would You Do With 17 Hours?

Qantas has just made aeronautical history by flying non-stop 9,009 miles from Perth in Western Australia to London Heathrow in 17 hours.

This is not the longest non-stop flight as Qatar Airlines currently fly 9,025 miles from Doha to Auckland New Zealand but history was made as this was the first direct link between Europe and Australasia. As the first ever journey by air between the two took a staggering 28 days back in 1919, things have definitely improved over the past 100 years!

Despite some passengers complaining that the Wifi wasn’t that great on board, every effort has been made by Qantas to ensure that the flight was as comfortable as possible by using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which is quieter on board and fitted with the latest anti-turbulence gadgetry. Scientists from the University of Sydney assisted with the menu choices devising light and easily digestible meals. The addition of a help-yourself snacks and drinks in each cabin have also proved to be welcome. Four pilots are on board so they can take turns resting and two extra cabin crew to ensure your safety.

Qantas has a very up-to date in-flight entertainment system to keep boredom at bay but this really is the big problem with such a long flight. What do you do for seventeen hours? Of course if you are lucky enough to be flying in first or business class, the hours will pass a lot quicker than those cramped into the economy cabin.

With a non-stop route planned for 2022 between Sydney and London that will take 20 hours, this is something that needs thinking about. Personally, I would plan to watch about five films, take my sound-cancelling headphones and as many items as I can with me to make this long stretch bearable. I would also not sleep for quite a while prior to my flight so I would be as tired and hopefully sleep for some of those hours. Comfortable clothing is imperative, regardless of what I look like!

Would I want to fly non-stop? Yes please, I love Australia and the quicker I can get there the better.

What are your thoughts?