Australia to the world, non-stop: Qantas to launch history-making flights
The announcement comes as the national carrier unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000ULR in Qantas livery at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, the result of years of development to conquer the final frontier of long-haul aviation as part of Project Sunrise.
Qantas has been flying between Sydney and London since 1947, when the original Kangaroo Route took four days with seven stops in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito and Rome, on its way to the UK.
The new daily non-stop flights will make the journey without stops and cut up to four hours off the travel time compared to current one-stop services. These historic ultralong-haul services will operate alongside Qantas’ existing Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London services. The first Project Sunrise services between Sydney and London will go on sale in February 2027 and will significantly expand travel options for customers travelling between Australia and the UK and Europe.
The A350-1000ULR has been specifically manufactured by Airbus for Project Sunrise, fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank that enables the aircraft to fly more than 16,000 kilometres, for up to 22 hours non-stop. Qantas will take delivery of 12 aircraft in total, each configured with 238 seats across four cabins.
In preparation for the aircraft’s arrival next year, Qantas pilots have commenced training on Australia’s first A350 simulator in Sydney and with British Airways in the UK. Over the coming months, some of its pilots will also fly with Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.
In total, more than 360 Qantas pilots and 1,200 cabin crew will be trained to operate Qantas’ fleet of Project Sunrise aircraft by the time the 12th A350ULR arrives.
On the ground, Qantas engineers have also started classroom training in Sydney and cabin crew will do the same shortly.
Project Sunrise will eventually connect Australia’s east coast with other international destinations, with Sydney-New York confirmed as the next service to follow Sydney-London. Launch timing for these services will be announced next year.
For the latest Project Sunrise news and updates, visit our A350 Project Sunrise Hub.