Qantas Sets Off First Non-Stop Flights From Perth To Rome

In an Australian first, Qantas will offer non-stop flights from Perth to Rome.

Launched on Saturday, Qantas now has a second long-haul, non-stop route to Europe.

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To celebrate the first flight of its kind an accordion player and gelato cart greeted passengers checking in at Perth Airport's Terminal 4 ahead of QF5's take off.

Flying Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the Rome route, Qantas jetted off two sold-out special points-booking-only planes for frequent fliers earlier in the week, with its first official commercial flight taking off on Saturday.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said it marks an historical moment for WA, further strengthening the state’s strong connections to Italy and Europe.

"This new direct service will allow WA to grow visitation and spend into WA, helping diversify our economy and supporting long-term jobs," he said.

The departure follows an announcement on Friday of two new non-stop routes from Perth to Johannesburg and Jakarta.

The airline now boasts eight new international routes from Perth since the borders opened in November last year.

Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce said direct flights are the way of the future.

"We're seeing an increasing preference for non-stop flights to and from Australia to make the travel experience as efficient and easy as possible and we expect that will be a permanent shift in the way people want to travel," he said.

"Our flights from Perth to London are heavily booked, we've fast-tracked the return of our A380 fleet which will free up our 787s to operate new routes including Melbourne to Dallas, and we're deploying A330s to other new destinations including India and South Korea later this year."

- Mr Joyce

Qantas’ new non-stop Rome route, flying return three times a week from Perth on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, will be seasonal, operating across Europe peak holiday season from June 22 through to October 6.

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