A Dubbo mum who took a 17-hour non-stop flight between Perth and London with her family says it was an "easy and stress-free" option she may choose again.
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Rowena McCauley and her husband and young son were all first-time international travellers when they flew on the groundbreaking Qantas service.
She's given the flight option the tick of approval.
Qantas made history in 2018 when it started the first regular direct link between Australia and the United Kingdom, the world's third-longest passenger flight.
The national carrier has invested heavily in the design of its 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to offer improved comfort for the 14,498-kilometre journey.
When Mrs McCauley was planning her 2019 trip, the new Qantas service's features clinched it.
"On our first overseas trip we were looking for the most direct route with as little fuss," she said.
"We really liked the thought of leaving Australia and getting off at our destination without stopovers.
"The other factor we liked about this flight over was that you went to sleep and when the sun rose again you were coming into London."
There was some weighing up of whether it would suit the youngest McCauley.
"We were a little concerned about our seven-year-old being in such a confined space for so long but we had read a lot of reviews and felt the benefits of a direct flight outweighed this concern," Mrs McCauley said.
"In the end we shouldn't have worried - Jett handled it like a pro."
After 12 months of operation, Qantas reported "almost every flight" on the service was full and it had "turned a profit almost immediately". Mrs McCauley was one of its satisfied customers.
"It was a comfortable plane, slightly more legroom than we expected which was a dream when you're 5 foot 11," she said.
"Entertainment was provided with a vast array of movies. We loved that food was timed to be given out on London time and the self-serve snack bar worked well with a child."
Her experience was the flight over was "easier than the return simply because the return trip was daylight and harder to sleep", but she praised the flight staff as "fantastic and helpful".
Mrs McCauley said they would definitely catch the flight again.
It was just easy and stress-free as first-time international travellers with a child.
- Rowena McCauley
"I am planning to return to the UK [later this year] and this would be my pick of options," she said.
"It was just easy and stress-free as first-time international travellers with a child."
Qantas continues to pursue aviation milestones.
Its Project Sunrise research flight direct from London to Sydney landed after 19 hours and 19 minutes in November.
It followed the non-stop New York to Sydney flight in October, which was the second of three research flights aimed at improving crew and passenger well-being on ultra long-haul services under consideration, Qantas reported.