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<\/p>\nDirect flights between Sydney and London are set to take off from next year after Qantas unveiled the first route of its long-promised Project Sunrise.<\/p>\n
The announcement came after Qantas took delivery of its latest widebody, long-haul jet, an Airbus A350-1000 specialised for flying the 21-hour journey without a stopover.<\/p>\n
Flights are set to begin between the two cities from October next year.<\/p>\n
Qantas has previously indicated it also wants to start direct flights from other east coast cities to the British capital, and to other destinations including New York.<\/p>\n
“Qantas was built on the belief that Australia’s distance from the rest of the world should never stand in the way,” Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“The pioneering spirit of generations of our people has forged that path ever since, and today is the most significant step in that mission in our 105-year history.”<\/p>\n
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Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce first announced Project Sunrise nearly a decade ago. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)<\/p>\n
Modified aircraft to fly route<\/p>\n
The Red Kangaroo already operates direct London-Perth flights.<\/p>\n
Project Sunrise, first unveiled under previous chief executive Alan Joyce in 2017, saw the airline challenge Airbus and Boeing to develop planes capable of ultra-long-haul non-stop routes<\/a> from Australia’s east coast to major centres including New York and London.<\/p>\n But Project Sunrise has also been hit by challenges of its own, with this first aircraft delivery occurring five years behind schedule due to COVID impacts and supply chain delays.<\/p>\n The 12 modified Airbus A350-1000ULR jets ordered by Qantas for Project Sunrise are designed to fly up to 22 hours with 238 passengers on board.<\/p>\n They feature an extra fuel tank that will increase the range of the aircraft by an extra 1,800 kilometres.\u00a0<\/p>\n The flights are so long that much of the fuel is used merely to carry the weight of the rest of the fuel.<\/p>\n Sunrise fares to cost ‘a premium’<\/p>\n The journey between Sydney and London is expected to take between 19 and 22 hours, compared with the current QF1 route which, including a stopover in Singapore, takes 25 hours.<\/p>\n It will eliminate the stop over on the fabled Kangaroo Route, which once took five days and multiple stops to complete.<\/p>\n