48 AIRLINER WORLD JUNE 2018
in an unpressurised cabin must
have left them somewhat deaf long
afterwards. Though I ‘learnt’ how to
sleep on long-haul flights some 30 years
ago, I could only manage three hours’
shut-eye this time; so, I wrote about
1,000 words of notes for this article and
relied on the in-flight entertainment
to provide some distraction. However,
there are only so many movies you can
watch and, with my row full and every-
one else asleep, I felt rather trapped for
some considerable time and wished I’d
gone for an aisle seat instead.
Thankfully, some three hours before
our scheduled arrival, my suffering at
the window was rewarded. My spirits
were lifted as the previously jet-black
sky developed an horizon, then quickly
turned from inky hues to bright blue
as the sun positively leapt into place to
begin the new day. As it climbed rapidly
in our 10 ‘o’clock position, its rays
caught the edges of hundreds of
seemingly tiny clouds scattered perhaps
30 ,000ft below us, creating an idyllic
sight. A stunning palette of orange sun-
rise and sparkling blue sea was perhaps
fitting, matching, in terms of ‘wow’ fac-
tor, the raw beauty of Western Australia
that lay ahead of us. It is at such
moments that, despite your exhaustion,
all seems well in the world. At least the
arrival of the breakfast service prompted
the person in front to put their seat back
upright, giving some welcome breath-
ing space and, after the trays were
cleared away we began our descent.
Despite the hours of discomfort, the
final minutes of the journey reminded
me that something special was coming
to an end...there would never be another
first UK-to-Australia flight.
We touched down at 12:37, by my
watch, 16 hours and seven minutes after
take-off. It appeared that every airside
vehicle was out on the grass to meet us
and the Perth fire service provided
a water-arch salute as we taxied in
towards our stand on Qantas’ combined
Terminals 3 and 4.
With the take-off to touch-down times
confirmed, it was clear that we had
beaten the record point-to-point UK-to-
Perth time set by a Royal Air Force VC10
in 1987 – by one minute! However, as
this journey is now a routine daily
event, ‘our’ record may already have
been eclipsed. As we disembarked, it
seemed a little surreal to be in Australia
having boarded an aircraft at Heathrow- but well done Qantas you’ve clocked
up yet another aviation milestone.
Captain Andrew Simpson
speaks to journalists ahead
of the return leg from
London back to Perth.
KEY-TOM ALLETTThe inaugural flight was
loaded with more than
21,000 individual items,
including 330 peppermint
teabags and hundreds of
biscuits. With payload at
a premium, Qantas plans
to refine these numbers
as it gains experience on
the route.Qantas is marketing the new
route as “the fastest way
to get to Australia” – QF10
continues on to Melbourne,
while passengers can also
connect via Perth to 11 other
destinations. VICTOR PODY