Long Distance Air Travel

Yes, it's a long way from Britain to Australia.  Still, with commercial jets having flown the skies for 60 years now, it surprises me that next year will mark the first non-stop flight from London to Perth:

Flying to the other side of the world used to be such a romantic adventure, but the 10-day upper-class epics of yesteryear will soon be reduced to a 15-hour nonstop dash.

Instead of a multi-stage marathon on a luxury flying boat, the first direct flights from the UK to Perth, Australia will take off in March 2018, operated by Qantas Airways...

"That experience, cocooned in what is arguably one of today's ultimate flying machines, is a stark contrast to the marathon journey in 1938 when it took 37 stops over 10 days," says Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of AirlineRatings.

"The return (round trip) fare was about £400 -- the equivalent of two years' minimum wages, making the journey very much one reserved for the rich and famous"...

At the start of the jumbo era two stops were still required, but with the advent of the 747-400 and its more powerful and economical engines in 1989, one-stop flights became the norm.

Now, the Dreamliner will go all the way in one go...

"And rather than two years wages, a return economy seat on the 787 non-stop service down under will cost about one-and-a-half weeks of average salary for a UK resident."

From 10 days to 15 hours. It's a small world.

And the 787 has only 2 engines.  Amazing.