The best way to observe a contrail over Perth is to study the international flight schedules of those planes most likely to fly over the city. After taking into account the curvature of the Earth, prevailing winds, and flying hours, we had some success with the following routes. The aircraft generally connect with Sydney (SYD), or Melbourne (MEL), and fly between the following international destinations. Using great apps such as Flightradar24, can increase your chances of spotting a Perth overflyer. Look for flights that connect with Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Dubai (DXB). Emirates and Etihad Airlines fly regularly from these two cities, and present some great opportunities to spot contrails over Perth. Etihad - EY 460

Air Austral is a French Airline which operates out of St Denis on Reunion Island (RUN). They cross the Indian Ocean and connect with Sydney (SYD).

Air Austral - UU 772 The Flight Stuff

Perth fly-over time is not an exact science. The easiest solution is to first estimate the flying hours between Perth , and the Australian connection. The following flying hours are a good guide.



Perth to Melbourne 3hr 15min Melbourne to Perth 4hr 15min Perth to Sydney 4hr 00min Sydney to Perth 4hr 30min The prevailing winds blow from west to east, and form a solid headwind against all flights crossing the desert to Perth. This is why the flying hours are slightly longer when travelling to Perth. Working out thefly-over time is not an exact science. The easiest solution is to first estimate the flying hours between, and the Australian connection.The following flying hours are a good guide.

Once you know the arrival or departure time at the Australian connection, you can then estimate the Perth fly-over time.



Example: An Emirates flight departs Dubai (DXB) at 2:40am, and arrives in Melbourne (MEL) at 10:00pm that same day. Melbourne is 2 hours ahead of Perth, meaning it lands at 8:00pm Perth time. It takes about 3 hours 15 minutes to arrive in Melbourne after it passes over Perth. The Perth flyover time should be around 4:45pm. Allow a 20 minute window around your estimation, as there are many factors which can effect the fly-over time.



NOTE: During summer daylight saving, both Melbourne and Sydney are an annoying 3 hours ahead of Perth!

Air Mauritius operate a service from Port Louis, in Mauritius (MRU). It is during their direct flights between Mauritius, and the eastern states of Australia, that their planes could leave a contrail over Perth. We are yet to actually spot an Air Mauritius contrail, but like many great scientific theories we are sure they exist. They change their flight schedules frequently, and possibly sneak over during the night. Night Cruiser Australia’s own international airline, Qantas, operates a regular route between Johannesburg (JNB) and Sydney. You can occasionally spot a “Qantrail” over Perth, though we believe they don’t fly overhead that often. They possibly cross the coastline south of Perth when nobody is looking. A Genuine Qantrail At least you can rely on this guy. He might make only one flight a year, but he will never let you down. No flight schedules are necessary, though having a 5 year old nearby is a sure bet for success. Expect him to cross over sometime on Christmas Eve, .........only if you've been good. Flight XMAS 25 Western Australia has a booming iron ore mining industry in the northern Pilbara region. Some of the bigger mining companies have established fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) services for their mining workers. While the majority of these flights transfer between Perth and the North-West, a few now fly directly to Busselton, which is further south. They occasionally produce a contrail over Perth. These flights are difficult to predict, as they are operate on a private charter basis. They travel in both directions, and will usually return on the same day.