Vintage photos show the story of Qantas' Famous' Kangaroo Route 'to the United Kingdom

The historic “Kangaroo Road” of Qantas is an excellent example of aviation innovation during the last century.
It dates back to 1934 when Tiny Biplanes began to jump 12 days between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Project Sunrise will launch the non -stop historic trek in 2027, which will last until 9 p.m.

The piloting activity of people from point A at point B has evolved over the decades, small propeller plans shaking with solid line planes capable of transporting hundreds of people.

Among the most famous examples of these progress is the “Kangaroo road” of Qantas between Australia and the United Kingdom.

The first versions of the trip of more than 12,000 miles were taken for the first time in the mid -1930s, and the route is still strong today – but it is about to travel even faster.

What was formerly a 12 -day and 31 -year route should become a non -stop trip from 9 p.m. by 2027. The flight from Sydney to London is ready to become the longest route in the world thanks to a specially equipped Airbus A350.

The international CEO and Qantas freight, Cam Wallace, told Business Insider that the ultra-long plane “would unlock the possibility of flying from Australia to anywhere in the world.”

The unofficial route of kangaroo began as an air service in 1934.

A DH50 of Qantas Empire Airways spoke of the road to the inaugural air map from Brisbane to Darwin in 1934.

Queensland State Archives

The first version of the Kangaroo road was an air mail operation controlled by Qantas Empire Airways, where Qantas and Imperial Airways British each had about half a party.

In 1934, Qea began flying between Brisbane and Singapore via Darwin, who then connected to England. It was a precursor of today’s cod partnerships.

Passenger transport began in 1935 and the route took 12 days.

Vintage photo of the interior of the DH86 biplane used by Qantas. — There was no cabin crew to distribute snacks, and the DH86 biplanes of 10 passengers were far from the luxury of today’s line planes.

Print collector / getty images

The planes route quickly turned into weekly passenger flights in 1935. Qantas stole the leg for Singapore, where travelers connected to London on Imperial.

The series of winding connections included up to 31 stops, especially nights, in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Brindisi’s trek in southern Italy in Paris was via the train.

The long journey – which was reserved for rich flyers because the tickets cost £ 195 one -way (about $ 15,250, adjusted for inflation) – was always faster than the six -week boat option.

Flying boats were introduced in 1938 to shave the exit time.

Aboard a Qantas flying boat in 1938. — The flying boats worked from Rose Bay by Sydney Harbor.

Qantas

The stolen shorts of the QAE Empire were launched in 1938 and reduced the flight time for several hours.

The flights were rocky and rough due to turbulence and a lack of meteorological radar. After the fall of Singapore in 1942, the Second World War interrupted the Kangaroo service.

A truncated Kangaroo route was relaunched in 1943 with the “Double Sunrise”.

Aircraft Qantas Catalina used for double sunrise, 1943. — The “Double Sunrise” was invented because the passengers and the crew saw two Lerins during the trek. The planes transported to three passengers and mail.

Qantas

The modified Qantas road connected Australia to England via Ceylon (current Sri Lanka) instead of Singapore.

The non -stop flight Ceylan through the Indian Ocean lasted up to 33 hours and is still the longest commercial flight in history through time.

The itinerary used flight pilots Consolidated Pby Catalina, later followed by Liberator planes, the latter, the first of which to display the Kangaroo logo of Qantas.

The converted bombers of the era of war returned to the road restored in 1945.

Vintage photo of the berths and seats in the Avro Lancastrien. — The Lancastrian had nine seats oriented on the side and the convertible bibelchons. The lack of reliability of the planes meant that the airports of each stopover city had to transport spare components and engines.

Qantas

Qantas has exploited the part between Australia and Karachi, Pakistan, using Lancastrians Avro 691 planes.

Its partner, the British Overseas Airways Corporation, or Boac – which is a first version of British Airways – took over for the rest of the trip to London. The trek took around 70 hours.

Qantas returned the Ceylon part of the Return to Singapore itinerary after the war.

Qantas completely resumed the route in 1947 and put a “kangaroo road”.

The collage of the Kangaroo itinerary stops, sewn photos of the inaugural flight of the Constellation. — The stops were Darwin, Singapore, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito in Tripoli and Rome.

Australian National Library, The Sydney Morning Herald / Getty Images

The airline used Lockheed Constellations to Quadricoles at 29 places to reduce flight time to around 55 hours out of seven stops and four days of travel in total. Tickets were £ 525 (about $ 22,600, adjusted for inflation).

“When the Kangaroo Route was launched in 1947, it opened a new border for aviation,” said Wallace.

In 1954, Qantas received his first super constellation. They transported more people and still reduces journey time.

Qantas presented the Boeing 707 in 1959.

Vintage photos of passengers on the Boeing 707 in London — According to Qantas, the Sydney price in London in 1959 cost approximately 30 weeks of its average weekly earnings.

MirRorpix / MirRorpix via Getty Images

Thanks to its more powerful jet engines, Qantas 707 aircraft could transport up to 90 people and hike to London in 27 hours.

It was the first Age jet plane bought by Qantas.

The Boeing 747 reduced the flight time to less than a day in 1971.

Qantas 747 upper bridge bar and lounge with orange sofas. — The huge size of the 747 has helped to walk affordable air trips in the masses and change the landscape of international flight.

Qantas

The famous Jumbo Jet 747 stole from Australia in London via a single stop in Singapore.

From 1979 to 1985, Qantas operated a fleet of 747, with comfortable seats and an exclusive lounge and bar.

The Airbus A380 completed the 747 from 2008.

Qantas A380. — The Qantas Airbus A380 with a double floor can transport almost 500 passengers – 50x the capacity of the DH86 biplanes which stole in 1935.

James D. Morgan / Getty images

The A380 is currently flying from Sydney and Melbourne in London, with a stop in Singapore. The route previously crossed Dubai.

The mammoth A380 completed the fleet 747 for decades until the emblematic “queen of the sky” was officially withdrawn during the pandemic in 2020.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners of Qantas began to fly constantly between Perth and London in 2018.

A member of the Qantas cabin crew checks the business class cabin aboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane. — The plane carries 236 passengers divided between business, the premium economy and the coach.

James D. Morgan / Getty images

It was the first non-stop passenger service connecting Australia to the United Kingdom, but it was only for Perth.

Key destinations in eastern Australia, such as Sydney and Brisbane, still lack non -stop service.

Travelers in a deep pocket can discover the famous Kangaroo route for $ 30,000 in 2026.

Mr. Gollan, Lord Swinton, Sir Stephen Holmes and Me Harrison (LR) leave the constellation of Qantas in London, 1953 — English politicians left a constellation of Qantas in London in 1953.

Fairfax Media Archives / Fairfax Media via Getty Images

The choice of the Captain of the tour company is a unique tourist trip in February 2026 to reflect almost the kangaroo road as it was in 1947 – hops included.

The seats start at around $ 30,000. While Qantas does not tariff or sells any of the tickets, it operates the charter Airbus A330 plane.

Project Sunrise should be launched in 2027 in a full moment for Qantas.

Qantas A350-1000 test flight. — Qantas said at a conference in March that one -shop hikes would fly alongside the Sunrise project for the scale and flexibility.

James D. Morgan / Getty images

The flight at 9 p.m. and 10,000 miles will officially eliminate the “Hop” from the historic Kangaroo road.

Project Sunrise will include two ultra-long routes using a specially designed A350-1000Use fleet: Sydney in London and Sydney in New York.

Qantas has new cabins on the A350.

Qantas first class cabin for sunrise of the project — A return tour of the new first class. Test flights have been made to see how people will get out of ultra-long flights.

Qantas

The A350 of Qantas will only have 238 seats and will have four different cabins – including the economy, premium economy and business and first class suites.

The airline announced at the end of February that the plane would enter the final assembly in September, followed by flight tests and delivery in the second half of 2026.

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Vintage photos show the story of Qantas’ Famous’ Kangaroo Route ‘to the United Kingdom