Qantas launches direct Paris to Australia flight
The flight takes 17 hours to Perth and is the first Paris Qantas route for almost two decades
The flights will operate using the airline’s 787 Dreamliner planes
Markus Mainka/Shutterstock
Fancy a trip Down Under? Australian airline Qantas is now operating a direct flight from Paris to Perth, Western Australia, in its first route to and from the French capital for almost 20 years.
The Perth-Paris (Charles de Gaulle) trips began on July 13, 2024.
The flights take 17 hours non-stop, on board a 236-passenger Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airline is operating four flights per week during the peak summer season. This will drop to three flights a week from mid-August.
The new direct flight will reduce journey times between Paris and Perth by around three hours at least. The last time Qantas served Paris was 2004, when it operated Paris to Perth flights with a stopover in Singapore.
Read also: New UK flights announced for Lyon and Paris
“We are [now] the only airline to offer these direct flights rather than with a stopover, because the key market we serve is Australia. Our on-board service is designed for long-haul travel,” said Vanessa Hudson, Qantas Group CEO, in a statement.
“The programme we announced today will add more than 75,000 seats between Australia and Europe each year,” she said.
The company is also working with Western Australia tourist board Tourism WA to help showcase Perth to new visitors, “knowing that direct flights are an important factor in destination choices”, she said.
Perth is the capital of Western Australia. It is a five-hour flight from Sydney, or capital Canberra.
Read also: Boost for France-Canada flights with new all-year service confirmed
Read also: Qatar Airways to stop its direct Toulouse-Doha flight
Australian and European hubs
The new flights will operate through Qantas' existing terminal at Perth Airport (Terminal 3). This will mean that passengers disembarking from the direct Paris flight will be able to connect to flights to other destinations in Australia more easily.
Qantas also offers a ‘Circle Fare’, which allows Qantas passengers to travel to Paris, and then head back to Australia from London or Rome on the same ticket. This may encourage more Australians to visit Paris as part of a wider European tour.
Qantas - or, to use its full name, Qantas Airways Limited - is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size and number of flights in Oceania. It now operates at three airports in Europe: London Heathrow, Rome, and Paris.
