Commuters from Oxford to London have virtually met Rottnest Island’s quokkas, and snorkelled with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, through state-of-the-art headsets for a virtual reality escape to Western Australia.
After the United Kingdom’s coldest spell in five years, passengers were transported to WA’s tempting, sunny climate with a three-dimensional entertainment experience, as part of Tourism Western Australia’s promotion of Qantas’ direct flights between London and Perth.
The new nonstop Dreamliner service will be the fastest way to get to Australia from Europe, with the inaugural flight departing Perth to Heathrow on Saturday March 24, 2018, and returning Sunday March 25, 2018.
In 1947, Qantas’ first UK to Australia flights took four days and nine stops, and now the nonstop London to Perth route will take 17 hours, bringing Western Australia closer than ever.
Commuters were given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of tennis legend Roger Federer by interacting with quokkas, named the world’s happiest animal, and famed for the #quokkaselfie.
Related: Federer quokka shot smashes WA tourism into global advantage
The unique experience was commissioned by Tourism WA, in partnership with Chiltern Railways, to celebrate the launch of the flights, and could be rolled out more widely in coming weeks.
Photo: Qantas Dreamliner (Mertie . / Flickr)