Kangaroo Route

A Qantas Boeing 787-9 among British Airways aircraft at Heathrow Airport

The Kangaroo Route is a term coined by Qantas, referring to the commercial passenger air routes flown between Australia and the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere.[1]

The route has been operated since 1934,[2] but found its name in 1944 from the unique mode of travel of the kangaroo, as the route's "hops" were reminiscent of a kangaroo's, and both are used to cover long distances.[3] The term is trademarked and traditionally used by Qantas,[4] although it is often used in the media and by airline competitors to describe all Australia to United Kingdom flights.

In addition to Qantas, by 2003, over 20 airlines operated routes connecting Australia and the UK, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Turkish Airlines[5] with most involving a single transfer between flights at their respective hubs. Only British Airways and Qantas offer through direct flights (not requiring passengers to change plane en route), both making a fuel stop at Singapore Changi Airport as of 2024.

Qantas commenced operating non-stop flights from Perth to London with Boeing 787s on 25 March 2018. This ended the era of the continents of Europe and Oceania not being connected by non-stop flights, marking the first time that all of the world's continents, excluding Antarctica, are connected by non-stop flights.[6][7]

  1. ^ "About Qantas – Our Company – History – Constellations Span the World". Qantas. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  2. ^ "The Qantas Story — 25 Years of Progress". Longreach Leader. 10 December 1947. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  3. ^ Gunn, John (1987). Challenging Horizons: Qantas 1939-1954. john gunn. ISBN 978-0-7022-2017-3.
  4. ^ "Trade Mark Details for Trade Mark 330928". Australian Government - IP Australia. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Qantas statement on Virgin Atlantic Airways becoming 21st carrier on the Kangaroo Route" (Press release). Qantas. 28 November 2003. Archived from the original on 17 July 2006.
  6. ^ "London to Perth: Everything you need to know about the first non-stop flights from Britain to Australia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Qantas confirms non-stop Perth-UK flight". The West Australian. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2023.