Qantas picks London for record-breaking non-stop flight

Qantas has announced London as the first destination of the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight, eliminating traditional stopovers along the “Kangaroo Route”, around a 20-hour journey from Sydney.

The Australian airline plans to start selling tickets in February and launch flights in October 2027, CEO Vanessa Hudson said at an event in Toulouse, France.

The flights are part of the airline’s “Project Sunrise” initiative, which will also serve New York using modified Airbus A350-1000ULR jets capable of flying for up to 22 hours with 238 passengers.

Each aircraft will be configured with 238 seats in four cabins (First Class, Business, Premium Economy and Economy) and will be equipped with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank that will enable the A350 to fly over 16,000 km non-stop for up to 22 hours.

The announcement is part of a fleet overhaul that began in 2017, when Qantas challenged Airbus and Boeing to develop aircraft capable of non-stop ultra-long-haul flights from Australia.

“Australia’s distance from the rest of the world should never be a barrier,” said Hudson, before introducing one of the modified Airbus jets, fresh from the paint shop and not yet fitted with Rolls-Royce XWB-97 engines.

Qantas, the airline’s World War II The couple named Project Sunrise after their sunrise endurance flight, which stayed in the air long enough to see two sunrises during World War II.

The aim is to reduce a five-day walk on the “Kangaroo Route” to London into a single hop of 19 to 21 hours, depending on route and winds.

Qantas will use polar routes about a quarter of the time, especially during the northern hemisphere winter.

The journey now takes 24 to 25 hours via Singapore.

This is a big gamble for Qantas; It involves spending billions of dollars on aircraft, cabin upgrades and research into passenger health on ultra-long flights.

To be successful, it must persuade passengers to pay more to avoid waiting times while minimizing the inconvenience of long flights.

Hudson said Qantas was involved in academic research on jet lag, exercise, hydration, lighting and meal times.

“What they’re selling is time, and they absolutely need to charge a premium on all cabins, especially business and premium economy,” aviation analyst John Strickland said.

Qantas hopes to replicate the nearly 20 per cent premium it gets across all four cabins on Perth-London flights compared to single-stop routes, Hudson said.

Qantas has temporarily rerouted its Perth-London flight via Singapore due to disruption to Middle East airspace.

“Once things calm down, we’ll get our network back to where it was before the war,” Hudson said, without giving a timeframe.

Qantas estimates Project Sunrise could add more than A$400 million a year to its earnings.

Jefferies analysts said they expect a positive market for Project Sunrise flights to London.

Gulf airlines such as Emirates, which has redrawn the aviation map around its hubs, are expected to maintain their market shares.

Australia on Wednesday lifted a months-long “do not travel” warning to Gulf hubs that voided most travel insurance policies, even for transit passengers.

Airbus won the Project Sunrise order in 2019 after an intense battle with the Boeing 777X.

Earlier this month, Airbus conducted the first test flight for one of 12 modified A350-1000ULR aircraft ordered by Qantas.

The 238-seat aircraft feature an extra rear center fuel tank that helps increase range by 1852 km.

Flights take so long that most of the fuel is used just to carry the weight of the remaining fuel.

Half of the 12 new jets will serve the ultra-long-haul London and New York markets.

The remainder could replace Boeing 787s on other longer routes, such as Perth-London or Auckland-New York, allowing those planes to open new routes, Hudson said.

The first aircraft are expected to be delivered in April 2027, about five years later than originally expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain delays.

with PA