LONDON (AP) — The maiden flight of a new non-stop regular passenger service between Australia and Britain has touched down at London's Heathrow Airport. 
 
 The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, operated by Qantas Airways, arrived Sunday in London just over 17 hours after setting off from the western Australian city of Perth. 
 
 The new link with Perth — a 14,498-kilometer (9,009-mile) journey — is around three hours quicker than routes that involve stopovers in the Middle East to change planes or refuel. It is also set to shorten journeys from London to Sydney or Melbourne, compared with flying via Dubai. 
 
 The route is about a quarter more than Britain's previous longest service — 7,275 miles (11,707 kilometers)— which was flying between London and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. ||||| Passengers have taken off for the first direct flight between Australia and London, passing a major milestone by reducing to 17 hours a trip that once took 12 1/2 days. 
 
 The 9,000-mile flight from Perth, one of the world’s most isolated cities, marks the first direct passenger service between the continents. 
 
 Qantas Airways' inaugural service between the Australian city of Perth and Heathrow took off on Saturday evening and will touch down in London at 5.05am on Sunday before departing for the return trip at 1.15pm that afternoon. 
 
 Passengers will be on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft for 17 hours as they make the 9,009-mile journey. 
 
 This is 24% further than the UK's existing longest route of 7,275 miles, operated by Garuda Indonesia between Heathrow and Jakarta.
– The maiden flight of a new nonstop regular passenger service between Australia and Britain has touched down at London's Heathrow Airport, reports the AP. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, operated by Qantas Airways, arrived Sunday in London just over 17 hours after setting off from the western Australian city of Perth. The new link with Perth—a 9,009-mile journey, about 20 miles short of the world's longest route between Auckland and Doha, notes the Telegraph—is around three hours quicker than routes that involve stopovers in the Middle East to change planes or refuel. It is also set to shorten journeys from London to Sydney or Melbourne, compared with flying via Dubai. The route is about a quarter more than Britain's previous longest service—7,275 miles—which was flying between London and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. For tips on surviving a 17-hour flight, head to Sky News.