On March 24 Qantas launches nonstop flights between London’s Heathrow Airport and Perth in Western Australia.

Not only will it be the longest flight in the world operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, but it will be the first historic “Kangaroo Route” from the 55-hour, nine-city, four-day hopscotch across continents it was when it began in 1947, to a 17-hour, nonstop zip Down Under.

Although 17 hours beats the current speediest travel time of 21 hours (which includes a Dubai stop) between the two cities, it’s bound to be a sitting marathon for passengers at the back of the plane. It’s not even the longest flight in the world – Qatar Airways’ Doha-Auckland, United Airlines’ Los Angeles-Singapore, and Singapore Airlines’ Singapore-San Francisco routes all have slightly longer flight times.

Despite the excitement of making such a momentous journey in one fell swoop, passengers onboard will have to face discomfort.

Treat yourself

The eastbound London to Perth route for the Qantas flight is timed at 16 hours and 45 minutes, while westbound tops the charts at 17 hours and 20 minutes. If there’s a trip to pull out all the stops to make yourself comfortable, it’s this one…