Qantas has successfully launched the first direct flight between Australia and France. Flight QF33 departed from Perth (PER), Western Australia, on the evening of July 12, 2024 and landed at Paris CDG airport 16.5 hours later, at 6:20 a.m. on July 13 (local time).
The flight is operated by Boeing 787-9 aircraft, is Qantas’ the third longest flight of the Australian national carrier, which connects the continent with Europe. The other two are to London Heathrow (LHR) and Rome (FCO).
Flights to the French capital will be four times a week during the 2024 Summer Olympics being held in the French capital and during the peak summer season in the Northern Hemisphere. From the middle of August, the service will be three times a week.
The B787-9 aircraft are used on ultra long-haul flights and are equipped with a three-class cabin with 42 business, 28 first class economy and 166 economy seats.
Qantas claims that with its new service to Paris, it offers passengers the option to travel between Paris and Perth, which is three hours faster than the current fastest alternative, which is a connecting flight.
The Australian airline is thus returning to the French capital after a two-decade hiatus.
However, this continued relationship with Western Australia may only be a harbinger of things to come. Paris is one of the cities included in Qantas’ Project Sunrise, a plan to connect Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL) to several destinations currently outside the reach of Australia's two largest cities.
Airbus A350-1000 aircraft with a cabin specially designed for almost 20-hour flights will be used on Project Sunrise routes from 2026