Australia flight to U.K. in 17 hours a first

LONDON — Qantas Airways made a giant leap forward in long-haul travel with an inaugural nonstop flight between Australia to Britain in less than 24 hours over the weekend.

Flight QF9 took off on Saturday from Perth, in Western Australia, and landed in London early Sunday morning. Qantas’ chief executive, Alan Joyce, billed the trip as “historic” and “a game changer.”

The flight carried more than 200 passengers and 16 crew members.

It took off around 7 p.m. Saturday and landed at 5.02 a.m. Sunday.

The trip lasted just over 17 hours and covered about 9,009 miles.

The flight was operated by four pilots during the journey, with one or two pilots resting at any one time.

Capt. Lisa Norman commanded the flight.

“This is absolutely the pinnacle of my career,” Ms. Norman told reporters. “No one has ever done this before. ”

Some passengers agreed to share data on their sleeping and activity patterns with researchers from the University of Sydney. They wore monitors that recorded data about their mental state, eating patterns and hydration levels.

Among the first passengers to emerge was Robert Williamson, a mining executive from Perth who had traveled in business class. He told The Independent, a British newspaper, “It was surprisingly good — above my expectation.”

Peter Robinson, a builder from Liverpool, England, who lives in Perth and flew economy, pronounced the food “ordinary,” though he said the flight was “good, quicker than I thought.”

The long haul across oceans and continents was made by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner called Emily. The Dreamliner is twice as fuel-efficient as the Boeing 747, and Emily is decorated with indigenous livery based on the artwork “Yam Dreaming” by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Qantas said.