Featured Map for 21 December 2016:
Longest Night, Longest Flight

For those of us who live in Earth's northern hemisphere, today is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year (and shortest day). In Australia and the rest of the southern hemisphere, it is the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Ten days ago, Qantas announced another sort of longest day: non-stop flights between Perth and London, using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which will take about 17 hours.

The flights will originate in Melbourne and continue with the same aircraft, replacing daily service via Dubai using the Airbus A380. Connections from Sydney and Brisbane are likely, and Qantas is reportedly considering using the 787-9 from Perth to Paris, Rome, and Frankfurt. (The first Qantas 787-9 route will be from Melbourne to Los Angeles, starting 15 December 2017, operating six days per week and replacing a Boeing 747-400 in addition to a daily trip with an Airbus A380.)

The Perth-London trip will be the longest flown by Qantas. Qantas expects it to be the longest flight flown by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the world's third-longest passenger flight.

Today's Featured Map shows the new route, along with the routing via Dubai that it will replace. Other cities under consideration for the Qantas Dreamliner-to-Europe hub at Perth are marked in grey.

References and additional information:

• Qantas
  • Qantas to Fly Non-Stop Perth to London – Qantas News Room (11 December 2016)
  • Melbourne–Los Angeles Announced As First Dreamliner Route – Qantas News Room (13 December 2016)
• Boeing 787 Dreamliner – Boeing
• Qnatas to fly Boeing 787 non-stop Perth-London from March 2018 – Australian Business Traveller (11 December 2016)
• The World's 10 Longest Flights – The Telegraph (12 December 2016)
• Featured Map: Shortest Day, Shortest Flight (22 December 2015)