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First Direct Flight from Australia to London Touches Down

by Associated Press

   LONDON --

   The maiden flight of a new non-stop regular passenger service between
   Australia and Britain has touched down at London's Heathrow Airport.
   The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, operated by Qantas Airways, arrived Sunday
   in London just over 17 hours after setting off from the western
   Australian city of Perth.
   The new link with Perth -- a 14,498-kilometer (9,009-mile) journey --
   is around three hours quicker than routes that involve stopovers in the
   Middle East to change planes or refuel. It is also set to shorten
   journeys from London to Sydney or Melbourne, compared with flying via
   Dubai.
   The route is about a quarter more than Britain's previous longest
   service -- 7,275 miles (11,707 kilometers) -- which was flying between
   London and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.