A marathon non‑stop trial pushed a modified A350-1000ULR to 23,075 km, hinting at how Sunrise could transform Australia‑Europe and transatlantic travel.
New Airbus A350-1000ULR, designed for ultra-long-haul passenger service between Australia, Europe and the United States, recorded the longest nonstop flight: 23,075 km between Melbourne and Toulouse.
According to the manufacturer, the flight lasted 24 hours 24 minutes, after which the aircraft landed at Airbus’ plant in Toulouse. The route heads north through Canada.
The flight was a key milestone of a two-month test program for the upgraded A350-1000ULR, developed for Qantas as part of the Sunrise project. The aircraft first took to the air on June 2; at that time the tests lasted 3 hours 43 minutes.
According to the manufacturer, the goal of the marathon test is to confirm the aircraft’s ability to perform flights with total time from takeoff to landing of about 23 hours, which provides a buffer for future commercial flights lasting up to 21 hours 40 minutes.
The modified aircraft has an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 20,000 liters, increasing the range by about 1,850 kilometers compared to the standard A350-1000.
During the marathon flight, more than 3.6 million people watched online. According to Flightradar24, the flight was the second most popular among flights on the platform in the service’s history.
Qantas ordered 12 modified A350-1000ULR aircraft for nonstop flights from the east coast of Australia to London and New York. Each aircraft is designed for 238 passenger seats – significantly fewer than in the standard version, to provide more space and comfort during ultra-long-haul flights.
Sunrise Plans
The first aircraft for commercial operation is planned to be delivered to the airline in April 2027. In October 2027, Qantas is set to begin daily nonstop flights between Sydney and London, and later launch a direct service to New York. The journey to London will take between 19 and 21 hours depending on the route and winds.
The Sunrise project aims to complete a multi-year transformation of the kangaroo route: the journey from Australia to London, which previously took several days with multiple stops, is to become a single nonstop flight.
Such test flights demonstrate the potential of the A350-1000ULR to create long nonstop routes and support Sunrise’s ambitions to radically shorten travel times between North America, Europe and Australia.