Passengers love Boeing 747s and Airbus A380s, AKA the world’s biggest commercial jets, but they’re slowly being phased out.

I accumulated enough Qantas points for business-class seats on one of the world's longest flights. My wife and I agreed our 17-hour trip from Dallas to Melbourne felt luxurious, not exhausting.

UK route as it evolved from tiny biplanes hopping 31 stops to large jetliners soon flying nonstop.

The inaugural service was commanded by chief pilot Captain ‘Torchy’ Uren and on board were four New Zealand-born cabin crew members, along with Qantas founder Sir Hudson Fy ...