Passengers flying non-stop between Perth and London on Qantas can expect to pay up to 40 per cent more for a fare, according to an aviation expert.
Qantas will operate non-stop flights on its new 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft between Perth and London from March 2018.
The 14,498 kilometre service will be the first regular passenger service to directly link Australia with Europe and will take about 17 hours.
Ellis Taylor from the online news site Flightglobal said Qantas would have to charge more for one simple reason: the cost of carrying more fuel.
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"When you are going on a long flight there is a certain amount of fuel you have to burn to carry the rest of the fuel to complete the flight," he told Radio 6PR on Monday afternoon.
"So weight is the natural enemy when flying on an aircraft... you want to get as little weight in there as possible.
"For the first few hours this aircraft is going to be carrying fuel to essentially just burn it at the end, so this really affects the economics of this service.
"So I would be imagining an economy fare on a direct flight would be around the $2000 mark compared to $1200 to $1500 that you can get at most other times."
Mr Taylor said some passengers would simply opt out of the non-stop service between Perth and London.
"Qantas will charge more for these flights and that's really going to make it hard I think for some people to justify paying the extra to go direct," he said.
"I think it could be tough for Qantas to make it viable in the long term, but it could find its way in the market."
Premier Colin Barnett said the WA government spending $14 million to pay for upgrades allowing border services at domestic terminal T3 was money well spent.
"So we are not paying for departure lounges or transit lounges for passengers but we are providing the facilities for those border security employees. I think that's a proper role for government," he told Radio 6PR on Monday morning.
"What I put to Qantas and the airport was that we wanted the travelling public, both Australians and overseas visitors, not to be in any way inconvenienced," he said.
"We are seeing a big investment in Perth in terms of improved hotel accommodation, from lower-priced up to premium – some 3000 rooms are coming on, so all the balls are lining up," he told the station.
The government estimates the deal will inject $36 million annually into the WA economy, create new jobs at the airport for Perth-based pilots and businesses providing support services, and potentially allow West Australian produce to be used on the long haul flights.
T3 will also process the airline's current international services from Perth to Singapore and Auckland until Qantas relocates its international terminal T1 by 2025.
Perth-London seats will go on sale in April 2017 for the first services in March 2018 and while a Qantas spokesman said it was too early to define prices "customers can expect that our fares will be competitive".
- with Emma Young