9,000 Miles Non-Stop: The Longest Qantas 787 Route Is Also Its Most Frequent

While Qantas used to fly Boeing widebodies from the popular 747 and 767 families, its only twin-aisle airliners from the US company these days come from the 787 Dreamliner series. According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, the oneworld founding member currently has a grand total of 14 mid-sized 787-9s at its disposal, with another four of these (and eight 787-10s) still on order.

Data from aeroLOPA shows that the Australian flag carrier favors a relatively premium-heavy seating layout for these twinjets, with space for 236 passengers onboard. This capacity is split between 42 business class flatbeds, 28 premium economy recliners, and 166 economy class seats. But where exactly is Qantas flying its Boeing 787-9s this month? Let’s dive into the data to examine the type’s top routes.

The Longest Route Is Also The Most Frequent

According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Qantas has scheduled 502 flights with its Boeing 787 fleet this month. This marks a slight decrease compared to December 2024, when 512 flights were rostered with the type. This time around, the most frequently served route sees one flight in each direction every day this month, and comes in the form of the non-stop Perth (PER) to London (LHR) route.

Qantas began its non-stop service to London Heathrow Airport in March of 2018, with the facility being located some 8,988 miles (14,465 km) from Perth. Today, flight QF9 leaves Perth at 7:15 pm and reaches London at 5:05 am the next day, while QF10 leaves Heathrow at 11:50 am and lands in Perth at 12:30 pm the next day. At the time of the route’s launch, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said:

“This is hands-down the most comfortable aircraft that Qantas has ever put in the sky. Boeing designed the Dreamliner with features to reduce jet lag, turbulence, and noise. We’ve taken that a step further with our cabin design.”

Other Big Hitters

While Perth-London is the only 787 route that Qantas serves daily, there are plenty of others that have frequent non-daily flights. Indeed, Melbourne (MEL) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) will be served 24 times this month by the carrier’s 787s, while Melbourne to Los Angeles (LAX) will see 22 outbound and 24 inbound flights. These hubs offer interconnectivity with fellow oneworld member American Airlines.

Elsewhere, the one-stop Australia-US route from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to New York John F Kennedy International (JFK) via Auckland (AKL) in New Zealand has 21 Dreamliner operations penciled in in each direction this month. For the most part, this lengthy one-stop route will be served five times a week in December 2025, with the stopover in Auckland lasting in the region of two hours.

Elsewhere in Australia, Brisbane (BNE) is also home to two higher-frequency non-daily Qantas 787 routes. The first serves Auckland, and, at just 1,428 miles (2,298 km) long, it is not one that needs the Dreamliner for its range, but, rather, its capacity. Brisbane also enjoys frequent connections to Los Angeles via Qantas’ 787s, with 20 outbound and 19 inbound flights scheduled on the route this month.

The Best Of The Rest

Qantas’ other routes with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner this month depart from either Perth or Sydney. Rather aptly, the next most frequently served corridor for these modern widebody twinjets is the 2,041-mile (3,285 km) domestic jaunt connecting these two Australian hubs. This month, the 787 will operate 17 flights from Perth to Sydney and 18 in the other direction, with a typical frequency of four a week.

Rounding out the list of the most frequently served routes by Qantas’ 787s, we have the 7,061-mile (11,364 km) transpacific route from Sydney to Santiago (SCL). The Dreamliner plies this corridor four times a week, giving a total of 17 rotations this December. Its route often takes it close to Antarctica, and its remote flight path across the South Pacific to Chile makes it one of the most isolated flights out there.