Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic will be flying to Australia from December.
Crawley-based Virgin Atlantic will be operating daily flights between Heathrow and Sydney from December 7.
The carrier will be using Airbus A340-600 aircraft on the route but will eventually switch to the new superjumbo Airbus A380.
Sir Richard said: "I am delighted we are now able to offer flights to Australia.
"Everyone at Virgin has long wished for us to operate to Australia and today's announcement really is a dream come true."
The service to Sydney will operate with a 90-minute stopover in Hong Kong.
Tuesday June 22, 2004
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