Relive the 1934 Qantas flight to London

LONDON – To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first scheduled flights between Australia and England, Qantas Holidays in the UK is offering two once in a lifetime trips with travellers reliving the grand touring days on a 17 destination trip in a classic Convair CV580.

These two trips, exclusive to Qantas Holidays, will see a total of 44 passengers, only 22 on each trip, travelling from Sydney to London or visa versa with the option of booking additional pre and post touring.

• The 22-day London to Sydney ‘Highlights of the Classical Route’ departs on April 8, 2010 and includes stops at some of the world’s finest archaeological wonders, as well as a ‘flight seeing’ expedition over the Himalayas. This tour is priced from £20,390 per person.

• The 21-day Sydney to London ‘Highlights of the Nostalgia Route’ departs on March 18, 2010 and follows as closely as possible the original flight route from Australia to England by the first scheduled air service on December 14, 1934. This tour is priced from £21,900 per person.

Highlights include:

• great views as the aircraft flies slightly over 6,000 metres

• each passenger will have a window seat and business class legroom

• daily flying time is limited to under four hours

• there are 17 stops on the eastbound journey and 16 on the westbound

• excursions include a Ganges dawn cruise and the Taj Mahal by moonlight

• hotels include the Raffles, the Oriental Bangkok and the Strand in Rangoon

• fast, private check-ins and immigration formalities in each destination

• the use of executive lounges with private departure gates to the aircraft

Eastbound highlights includes stops in:

• Australia
• Indonesia
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Burma
• India
• United Arab Emirates
• Syria
• Turkey
• France

Westbound highlights include stops in:

• Czech Republic
• Bulgaria
• Armenia
• Uzbekistan
• India
• Nepal
• Laos
• Vietnam
• Brunei
• Indonesia
• Australia

All prices are per person based on two people sharing and include:

• travel by Convair CV 580 one-way
• travel in premium economy by Qantas A380 one way
• all hotels
• all meals
• transfers
• admission fees
• sightseeing
• guide

The Convair CV 580 is a fully pressurised, air-conditioned jet-prop airliner operated by the New Zealand airline Pionair.

Normally providing seating for up to 56 passengers, the aircraft used for these journeys has been fitted with 44 reclining armchair seats with a Business Class seating pitch of 96.5cm.