
Flying Down Under: Once upon a time, in a more romantic if ultimately slower and less efficient era, high-rolling passengers could make the marathon journey from London to Perth, Australia in a luxury flying boat.

Promenade deck: The trip was an adventure in itself, taking 10 days and 37 stops, leaving plenty of time for in-flight strolling on the promenade deck and pointing at dirty marks on the window.

Time to type: Some used the time to work, much like on long-haul flights today but with a typewriter instead of a tablet.

In-flight entertainment: Others kept their golf game sharp.

Broken journey: The early journeys were in two parts -- Southampton, England, to Darwin, Australia, in a Short C Class flying boat, before transferring to local carrier MacRobertson Miller Airlines (MMA) for the trip to Perth in a puddle-jumping DH-84.

Air con: The larger "state-of-the-art" DH-86 was a later improvement on the Darwin to Perth leg. The twisty air con nozzle didn't work then, either.

Super Constellation: The flying boats were superseded by converted Lancaster bombers and then pressurized four-engine Lockheed Constellations. In 1958, Qantas was the first airline to launch a round-the-world service with the Super Constellation.