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   TZUTC: 0100                     
   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.   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)   
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