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WWE Superstars Take Part In Near-Record Trip After WWE Crown Jewel Weekend

It's not everyday you take part in one of the longest non-stop flights on record, but many WWE Superstars did just that on their return trip from Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia.
Rick Ucchino|
Damian Priest
Damian Priest | WWE

Over 50 WWE Superstars, including Damian Priest and Grayson Waller, took part in a near-record journey earlier this week when a Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner flew non-stop from Perth, Australia to Los Angeles, California.

The 9,320-mile return trip from Crown Jewel weekend was roughly 1700 miles shy of the longest journey ever flown by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Qantas operates several of the top ten longest flights in the world, including Perth to London, Perth to Paris and Melbourne to Dallas, which provides the company's pilots the expertise required to handle those types of long-haul charters.

The record flight happened back in 2019 when the airline flew a 787-9 Dreamliner non-stop from London to Sydney, a journey of 11,029 miles, according to Corporate Communications Manager Christina McGoldrick.

It was a research and test flight for the company's plans to fly non-stop from London and New York to Sydney in 2027, making them the longest commercial flights in the world.

Qantas’ Dreamliners are configured to carry 236 passengers, and much like the WWE charter flight from Perth to Los Angeles, the increased range of the test trip was made possible by a lighter load of passengers.

“Special charters like the WWE flights aren’t part of our everyday operations, and when they happen, they bring a unique energy onboard," Qantas Chief Pilot Captain Richard Tobiano told The Takedown on SI.

“On Tuesday night we operated the return flight from Perth to Los Angeles on one of our 787 aircraft, which was a near 17-hour journey that demonstrated our long-range capability and drew on the unique experience and expertise of our pilots and crew.”

Qantas Airways are more than capable of handling these record long flights

Qantas Airlines
A Qantas Airbus A380 lands at Los Angeles International Airport in September 2018. 636745751006640131-USAT-Oct-18-19.jpg | Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special to USA TODAY

Rest for the crew is extraordinarily important on a trip of that distance. Qantas flights over 15 hours require four pilots to be on board and they rotate in and out of the cockpit until the flight has reached its final destination.

Qantas conducted two charters for WWE's trip to Australia. This included an A380 charter from Sydney to Perth last week, which was followed up by the near-record return flight from Perth to Los Angeles.

Chief Pilot Captain Richard Tobiano captained the Sydney to Perth leg, which was also unique because the A380 aircraft — the largest commercial aircraft in the world — does not usually fly that route.

Australia's largest airline has a flexible charter business that allows the company to provide tailored flight solutions based on fleet availability. Qantas has supported the National Rugby League for years with customer charter flights to Las Vegas.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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