A little-known South American airline has announced plans for a unique route that would connect Perth to Buenos Aires in just 15 hours. The non-stop flights between Argentina and Perth would continue to a final destination in Asia, which is likely to be Singapore.
The flights would be operated by Norwegian Air Argentina. This low-cost carrier only recently started operations in Argentina. The airline does not currently own any aircraft capable of operating the Buenos Aires-Perth flight, indicating that the route is unlikely to launch within the next year. But the airline’s parent company, Norwegian Air, already operates Boeing 787 aircraft that would have sufficient range to fly from Perth to Buenos Aires.
The new route would become of the few commercial airline flights to overfly Antarctica. The great-circle flight path takes the route almost directly over the South Pole:
But the flight would realistically track further to the north, allowing it to take advantage of tailwinds in both directions and to meet ETOPS (extended twin-engine operations) requirements.
Article explains the route wouldn’t be directly over the pole. PER to EZE tracks south past MEL and NZ and return well south of CPT to take advantage of the winds.
In which case the best seats on the aircraft will be the right side off the airplane.
There are no non-stop flights between South America and Asia due to the extreme distance between the two continents. If it goes ahead, the new route via Perth would become the fastest way to travel from South America to south-east Asia by some margin. Currently, the quickest way to travel between the two continents is via Johannesburg. But many passengers fly via North America because more (and cheaper) flights are available.
The new flights would be a huge benefit for Perth residents. As well as the convenience of direct flights to South America, Perth’s economy would benefit from increased visitors and stopover traffic. As Norwegian Air is a low-cost airline, Perth residents can also expect low fares to both Argentina and Singapore.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: PER – EZE direct flights
