Qantas’ Business Class cabin is one of the leading offerings in the sky, thanks to restaurant-quality meals, fantastic wines, flatbed seats and terrific entertainment and it makes for a brilliant journey on one of the world’s longest routes, Perth to Paris, as James Wilkinson discovered.

Being able to fly non-stop between Europe and Australia has been a long-held dream ever since Qantas flew from London to Sydney direct for the inauguration of the carrier’s first Boeing 747-400 Longreach aircraft in 1989.

For many passengers, the idea of non-stop flights between Europe and Australia is the ultimate feat in aviation and when Qantas launched direct flights from Perth to London in 2018 with the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, that dream became a reality.

Now almost 7 years after the London launch and two more routes on offer, Qantas is continuing to operate flights from Perth to London, Paris and Rome and it’s not surprising they are consistently incredibly popular for both business and leisure travellers alike.

While the journeys from Perth to Europe are up there with the longest flights in the world (Perth to London is number four at 14,498 km), they are a very enjoyable experience, particularly when you are up the front of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

If you are travelling from Sydney to Paris, the journey starts in the harbour city and heads west to Perth on a 4.5-hour flight and then the same aircraft heads onwards for the 14,270km hop to France, which is around 16 hours and 45 minutes.

The flight departs from the international terminal in Sydney and that offers access to the First Class Lounge for Qantas Platinum and oneworld Emerald frequent flyers, ideal for a Neil Perry-curated meal alongside excellent wines before the flight.

The carrier also has an excellent Business Class lounge for passengers in the Business cabin and both are worth stopping by for three hours ahead of the flight to Perth.

On the first leg across Australia, you can expect lunch after take-off, led at present by a delicious red wine braised beef short rib with potato purée, green beans, balsamic glazed eschallots and salsa verde.

Other lunch options include a big bowl of sweet corn soup with roast tomato salsa, hot and fragrant prawns with garlic and egg fried rice, alongside a salad of za’atar chicken breast with smoked eggplant, red cabbage, roast cherry tomatoes and lemon dressing.

A selection of fine Australian cheese is available to finish, led by a delicious Woombye cow’s milk ash brie, alongside Pyengana cow’s milk matured cheddar and a Berrys Creek cow’s milk blue vein.

For those with the sweet tooth, there is also a selection of gourmet Maggie Beer ice cream available onboard.

When it comes to drinks, Perry and the Qantas sommeliers have a range of alternating Australian wines onboard all Qantas flights in Business Class on the global network – from producers such as Shaw and Smith, Taylors, Vasse Felix and more – alongside French Champagne from Duval-Leroy, Jacquart and Lombard.

The crew can also mix-up a Bloody Mary, Campari and soda, Four Pillars Rare Dry gin and tonic or an Absolut Vodka and ginger beer. Other top spirits and liqueurs onboard include Bundaberg Dark Rum, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey, Chivas Regal 12yo blended whiskey and the Singelton 12yo Dufftown Single Malt whisky alongside H by Hine VSOP Cognac and Baileys Irish Cream.

With your sweets, the crew will also have Australian fortified and dessert wines available and again, these rotate on Qantas flights in Business Class.

When you make it to Perth, Qantas offers an international transit lounge that features spaces to relax, dine and work both inside and on the outdoor terrace. You’ll find a buffet for snacking and dining alongside showers for freshening up along the journey.

After a stop in Perth – which varies between 1.45- and 2.5-hours depending on the direction of travel – you’re off across the Indian Ocean, Middle East and finally Europe before touching down at Paris’ legendary Charles de Gaulle Airport almost 17 hours later.

While the flight time is long, those who fly regularly between Australia and the United States will find it similar to travelling from Dallas Fort Worth to Sydney or Melbourne and it’s not much longer than the harbour city to Los Angeles or San Francisco.

The departure time from Perth is 7:35pm, making it ideal for dinner and a movie onboard before a good sleep and waking up over Europe.

Qantas’ Business Class dinner menu from Perth to Paris is fantastic and it makes for a tough choice when it comes to the main dish.

The headline act is firmly the seared Humpty Doo Barramundi with fennel puree, caper and lemon burnt butter and sauce gribiche and it’s one of the best inflight dishes globally at present.

Other top options at present include a big bowl of tomato and fennel soup, spaghetti with lentil and tomato ragu, stir fried chicken with plum sauce and a red wine braised beef short rib with potato puree, green beans, balsamic glazed eschallots and salsa verde.

You’ll find the same selection of cheese on offer, alongside a Pat and Stick’s ice cream sandwich and a dark chocolate mousse with yoghurt ganache, wattleseed strawberries and macadamias.

During the journey to Paris, there are also mid-flight snacks on offer, including a toasted meatball sandwich, a warm tart of roast eggplant and crudites with Kalamata olives, tzatziki and grilled pita bread.

Before landing, breakfast and served and that’s ordered through a hotel room service-style breakfast card and expect fresh fruit, yoghurt, sourdough toast, pastries including croissants and pain au chocolat and toasted muesli with cranberries.

With the warm options, find scrambled eggs with bacon, sauteed spinach and braised beans; an egg white omelette with herbed ricotta, sauteed kale and tomatoes and sunflower seed romesco; and caramelised apple crepes with lemon ricotta, pistachio nuts and salted caramel sauce.

While the food and hospitality onboard is exceptional, you’ll also firmly fly in comfort and style courtesy of the suite-style Business Class seats the airline debuted on the Airbus A330 over eight years ago.

The design of the innovative seats mean you can recline your seat from take-off through to landing, plus there’s a large table that’s ideal for working and dining, storage space for headphones, laptops and water bottles, plus a power socket and a USB port for charging.

When it comes to rest, the fully-flatbed seats turn into a single bed thanks to the seat topper, 100% cotton duvet and European style pillow.

Qantas also offer pyjamas in Business Class (the carrier was one of the first airlines globally to do this and it’s a shame many others don’t offer it) for long haul flights, alongside amenity kits from Koskela that are loaded up with wellbeing products from Li’Tya, including a hand cream, face cream and lip balm alongside socks, an eye mask, toothbrush and earplugs.

On the entertainment front, Qantas is well known for its excellent selection of new release, vintage and Australian movies and the choice onboard now is excellent.

When it comes to TV, Qantas has deals in place with Paramount Plus, National Geographic and HBO and the choice of shows, including full seasons of new programs like The Agency and Lioness has made the offering all the more better.
There’s also music, games and wellness programming, including meditation and yoga videos.

With such a fantastic onboard experience, a journey that sounds incredibly long turns into one that’s wonderfully easy and despite no WiFi on the Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners at present, it is genuinely as close to a perfect Business Class flying experience as you’ll find anywhere.

We can’t wait for Qantas’ Project Sunrise, which will connect Sydney directly to London and New York City in 2026 with Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, marking the final frontier in aviation, but for now what you can expect in Business Class is truly world class.