Qantas Adds 45 Minutes on Perth-London Non-stop Flight
Qantas rerouted its Perth-London non-stop flight in 2026 after Middle East airspace closures added distance to the Europe-bound trip. The airline shifted the westbound leg from QF9 to QF209 via Singapore Changi Airport, ending the direct service on that segment.
The change adds up to 45 minutes and lets Qantas carry more than 60 additional passengers per flight, because the Singapore routing faces fewer weight restrictions. For travelers booked on the route, the trip now runs through a stop instead of the single 17-hour leg Qantas operated between Perth International Airport and London Heathrow Airport from March 25, 2018.
QF9 to QF209
Qantas began the Perth-London service as QF9 and QF10 on March 25, 2018. The route covered more than 9,000 miles, or 14.484 km, and the airline used a 236-seat Boeing 787-9 on the service, with 42 business seats, 28 premium economy seats and 166 economy seats.
Boeing lists the 787-9 range at 8,705 miles, or 14.010 km. That left the aircraft operating close to its official range limit on a route that had become known for linking Australia and Europe without a stopover.
Singapore Changi Airport
Qantas has used a similar rerouting twice for a short period in 2024, and the 2026 change follows the same operational response to the added distance. The airline said the Singapore option improves capacity even as it removes the non-stop Europe-bound leg that had defined the service.
Analytic Flying, using BITRE data, said westbound seat capacity between Perth and London averaged 219 seats per flight between October 2024 and September 2025. It also said one seat remained empty on average on the eastbound return flight from London over the same period.
Perth and London
Qantas launched the Perth-London route first, then added a seasonal Perth-Rome service after London in 2018. The Perth-London flight is part of a small group of long-haul routes in which Qantas says it will be the only carrier offering non-stop service.
For passengers, the practical change is simple: the Europe-bound journey is no longer the single direct leg that started in Perth in 2018. Qantas has chosen a routing that keeps the service operating while shifting the flight around the limits created by the added distance.
