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I did Sydney to London and it was around 20 hours in flight. I don't think anyone should wish for that trip without a stop in economy class.

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I moved from London to Sydney last year, and have flown the route via Dubai (on Emirates) three times now. Takes about 24 hours if you have a short layover in Dubai.

I'd gladly pay extra for a direct flight, because...

- 4 hours quicker

- An aircraft issue at Dubai can add a day to your journey (as happened to a friend who visited at Christmas)

- Changing at Dubai always seems to involve twenty minutes of walking, ten minutes on a train to go between terminals and then ages on a bus to get from the gate to the actual aircraft. Total PITA.

Stopping for refueling is Ok-ish, such as Quantas QF1 LHR-SYD which stopped in Bangkok last time I took it (heard that changed to Dubai?). Just walked into a gate and waited a little while the plane filled up fuel and beer. Then back to the same seat. Adding 3-4h is obviously not ideal but I wouldn't pay a large premium to fly direct compared to that. If I did it on a regular basis and was in business class it would be another matter, but can they really find enough such passengers?

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