Ever since I heard that Sydney’s Rose Bay was the city’s first international airport I have been intrigued by the idea if flying from here to Europe on a flying boat.
Back in the day, towards the end of and just after the second world war, it took 10 days in converted military Catalinas.
They were noisy, slow and uncomfortable but they still hold the record for the world’s longest passenger flight, in terms of time in the air – 30 hours – rather than distance which only got the plane as far as Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
The flights were dubbed the “Double Sunrise” because that’s what passengers saw and for which they received a special certificate.
Later the flying boats went off to other routes and were replaced by converted former Lancaster bombers and then the purpose-built and much more comfortable Lockheed Constellation passenger planes.
The journey time was reduced to seven days but bear in mind, according to Wikipedia, the plane was stopping overnight in Singapore and Cairo.
With 29 passengers and 11 crew, the Constellation flight from Sydney to London also landed in Darwin, Calcutta, Karachi, and Tripoli (passengers stayed overnight in Singapore and Cairo).
A return fare was 585 pounds (equivalent to $48,700 today), or about 130 weeks average pay. Because of the number of hops, the journey was called the Kangaroo Route, leading to the adoption of the famous flying kangaroo logo.
All of which is to say that the Captain’s Choice luxury travel group is reviving the concept next year with a trip on a privately chartered Airbus A330-300 which will start with a gala dinner in Sydney before heading off for Darwin and Singapore, Kolkata in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Cairo, Rome, Toulouse and London.
The hops include two days in Singapore, three in Sri Lanka, two in Cairo and two in Rome.
Only 50% of the main cabin will be sold to allow for more room to spread out. All guests will receive an aisle or window seat for each sector and business class catering will be served throughout the aircraft, regardless of seating category.
There are 26 Business Class places and up to 134 Economy Class places available and the price is only slightly higher than the 1947 fare, at $49,950 per person, twin share.
You’ll find out all you need to know on this website which has much more detail about the flights and the stopovers. Apparently it’s already selling well. Will I be on it? Hmmm. I think I’ll wait till they bring back the flying boats.
