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A direct flight from London Heathrow landed at Sydney airport on Friday. The
flight took place in the context of research into the well-being of passengers
on ultra-long flights. The brand new Boeing 787-9 traveled the distance of
17,800 kilometers in nineteen hours and nineteen minutes.
 
It was only the second time that an airliner flew directly from London to
Sydney. The last time was 30 years ago, when Qantas followed the same route
with an almost empty Boeing 747-400, even missing the interior. Fifty
passengers were on the flight that landed in Sydney on Friday.
 
Qantas is conducting research into the feasibility of direct ultra-long
scheduled flights to the Australian east coast. A non-stop flight from New
York already took place last month, which was also operated with a Boeing
787-9. Another flight from New York to Sydney will take place in December as
part of the Project Sunrise study.
 
Flight QF7879 was operated with the Boeing 787-9 with the registration VH-ZNJ
and the appropriate name "Longreach". The aircraft, with a special colour
scheme in honor of the centenary of Qantas, had flown from the Boeing plant in
Seattle to London to make the flight.
 
During the flight from London to Sydney, the airspace of eleven countries was
traversed: England, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia,
Kazakhstan, China, Philippines, Indonesia and finally Australia. After the
landing, there was still enough fuel in the tanks to continue flying for 1
hour and 45 minutes.
 
The arrival of the flight from London also marked the start of the festivities
around the centenary of Qantas. Friday marks the 99th anniversary of the
establishment of the Australian airline, so the company is now entering its
hundredth year of existence.

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