Since 2017, we’ve known about Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” concept, whereby the airline will fly from Sydney (SYD) and Melbourne (MEL) to New York (JFK) and London (LHR), using special Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft. These will be the world’s longest flights, and will see passengers spending nearly an entire day on an aircraft without stopping.
Qantas has been teasing this for nearly a decade, and the airline has now announced the first long haul route to get this service, along with the approximate launch date. However, more patience will be required, as this will only take flight 16 months from now, best case scenario.
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The new nonstop flights will cut up to four hours off the travel time compared to existing one-stop services. Even when the nonstop Sydney to London flight is launched, the airline still plans to maintain its one-stop services from Sydney to London via Perth (PER) and Singapore (SIN).
Qantas will launch this nonstop service once it has three A350-1000ULRs — two planes are needed to operate the route, and then they also need a spare. So you can expect the plane will enter service a bit earlier, operating regional flights, particularly for crew familiarization.
It’s not surprising to see Qantas launch Project Sunrise out of Sydney, though it’s interesting to see London chosen over New York (it has been confirmed that Sydney to New York will be the second route). Personally, I was thinking we’d see New York ahead of London, though I didn’t necessarily have a good reason for assuming that. I’m curious where Qantas is getting the Heathrow slots for this service from.
Here’s what Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson had to say about this:
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
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