Quantas around the world service

Photo by Quantas, VH-EAM "Southern Spray".

1958 January 14-20 Quantas starts around the world service with Super Constellation.

In January 1958 Qantas became the second round-the-world airline, flying Super Constellations westward from Australia to London through Asia and the Middle East on the Kangaroo route. Quantas also fly an east route to London, on the so called Southern Cross route (via the United States and the Pacific).

In February 1959 Qantas' fastest Super Constellation took 63 hr 45 min Sydney to Heathrow and BOAC's Britannia took 49 hr 25 min.

Jet flights (Qantas 707) started in late October 1959. In April 1960 the fastest trip Sydney to London was 34 hr 30 min with eight stops. Qantas first flew the Kangaroo Route on 1 December 1947.
A Lockheed Constellation ferried 29 passengers and 11 crew from Sydney to London, with stopovers in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta (Kolkata), Karachi, Cairo and Tripoli (passengers would stay overnight in Singapore and Cairo).  A return fare was £585, equivalent to 130 weeks average pay.

Source: Wikipedia