Qantas' first direct flight to Rome breaks speed record

It sat on the shelf for two years.

The 'flying roo' has a spring in its step today after the carrier broke an extra record on the inaugural Perth to Rome flight.

Qantas' launched the first non-stop flight from Australia to continental Europe on Saturday night. The 787 Dreamliner made the 13400km journey in a pacy 15 hours and 34 minutes.

It arrived in the Italian airport an hour ahead of schedule.

This extra efficiency was achieved by flying at an unusually high cruise altitude of 40,000ft, well over the flight paths of busy congested airspaces in south Asia and Europe.

The plane, a three-year-old 787-9 named "Jillaroo", was recorded at a peak altitude of 12200m over Jordan and the Gulf of Suez.

She touched down at Rome's Leonardo de Vinci Fiumicino at 8.25am local time.

In doing so she became the first non-stop flight from Australia to continental Europe and knocked hours off the fastest flight time between Italy and Perth.

Buon viaggio! The Rome-Perth direct flight is a launchpad for Qantas' ultra-long haul routes. Photo / Qantas

As the latest in Qantas' new generation of ultra-long haul routes. Having restarted the London-Perth non-stop routes in May, the Dreamliner schedules are seen as a launchpad for Qantas' more ambitious goals.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was quick to make the connection between Rome non-stop and its ultra-long haul ambitions.

"We're seeing an increasing preference for a non-stop flight to and from Australia to make the travel experience as efficient and easy as possible and we expect that will be a permanent shift in the way people want to travel," he said.

By 2025 the Australian carrier aims to launch a Sydney-London and Sydney-New York direct services. Dubbed "Project Sunrise" the airline will extend flights to as much as 20 hours.

Among the first to fly the non-stop route is Premier Mark McGowan who was in Europe on a trade mission to promote Western Australia.

""The State Government is committed to this new route which is why we invested significantly to market and promote the new Rome-Perth flights to ensure its success," he said. The new air links are part of a AU$195 million Reconnect WA package, aimed at rebuilding international connectivity out of Perth.

To celebrate the launch of the route, Qantas added an Italian twist to inflight menu items, toasting 'Buon viaggio!' with Negroni cocktails inflight.

Qantas says they hope it will be a natural gateway to several other southern European leisure destinations on the Mediterranean - including Athens, Madrid, Milan and Nice