Qantas Doubles Down on Perth-Rome Ultra-Long-Haul Route
Cristina GabrielaUpdated 3 min read
Qantas announced on 2 September 2025 that it would substantially enlarge its seasonal nonstop service between Perth and Rome in 2026. The airline added eight weeks to the season, raised peak frequency from three to four flights a week and scheduled more than 40 extra flights, worth about 10,000 additional seats. Qantas described the change as nearly doubling the route's capacity.
The 2026 schedule
The 2026 season was set to run from 3 May to 23 October, covering the whole northern summer as well as the spring and autumn shoulder months. The planned pattern was:
- 3 May to 26 June: three flights a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday)
- 27 June to 26 September: four flights a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday)
- 27 September to 23 October: three flights a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday)
Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said the route was very popular and that more than half of its passengers started their journey in eastern Australia, connecting through Perth. Western Australian Premier Roger Cook and Tourism Minister Reece Whitby welcomed the expansion, saying it would strengthen Perth's role as Australia's gateway from Europe and bring thousands more visitors to the state.
The route and the aircraft
Perth to Rome opened in June 2022 and made Qantas the first airline to fly nonstop between Australia and continental Europe. The sector is roughly 13,300 km and takes close to 16 hours, which puts it among the longest scheduled flights in the world. More than 70,000 passengers had flown it by the time of the 2026 announcement.
| Perth to Rome | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launched | June 2022 |
| Aircraft | Boeing 787-9 |
| Seats | 236: 42 business, 28 premium economy, 166 economy |
| Distance | About 13,300 km |
| Flight time | About 16 hours |
| 2026 season | 3 May to 23 October |
The route sits alongside Perth to London, which Qantas launched in 2018, and Perth to Paris, added in 2024. Together they make Perth the airline's western gateway to Europe, with passengers from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane flying domestic connections to Perth and then nonstop to Europe, rather than changing planes in Singapore, a Gulf hub or Asia.
Why Qantas runs it seasonally
The 787-9 has only a modest payload margin on a 16-hour sector. Strong headwinds and high temperatures can force weight restrictions, which means fewer passengers or less cargo. Demand for Italy from Australia is also heavily concentrated in the European summer. A seasonal pattern lets Qantas fly the route when both demand and yields are at their highest and redeploy the aircraft elsewhere in the southern summer.
Extending the season by eight weeks signals that Qantas believes the shoulder months can now support the flight.
Competition
Most travellers between Australia and Italy connect via the Gulf on Emirates, Qatar Airways or Etihad, or via Asian hubs such as Singapore. Those carriers held more than half of Australia to Europe capacity in 2024. Qantas cannot match their network breadth, so its pitch is time: a nonstop flight saves several hours on a one-stop journey.
What has happened since
The expanded season took on greater importance in 2026. After the conflict involving Iran began on 28 February 2026, airspace closures and the temporary shutdown of the Gulf hubs cut a large share of Australia to Europe capacity for several weeks, with partial reductions continuing after that. Qantas added Europe capacity in late March 2026, while longer routings around closed airspace pushed some of its Perth flights beyond what the 787-9 could fly with a worthwhile load.
As a result, Perth to Paris and Perth to London were rerouted with a stop in Singapore, which allowed more passengers to be carried per flight. Perth to Rome stayed nonstop, leaving it as Qantas's only nonstop route between Australia and continental Europe through the 2026 season. Reports in mid-2026 put its load factors above 90%, and in May Qantas said the service would continue to the end of October.
Qantas has since confirmed that its Project Sunrise nonstops from Sydney, using specially modified Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, will begin with Sydney to London in October 2027, followed by Sydney to New York from mid-2028.
