QANTAS Group has confirmed that London will be the first destination for its historic Project Sunrise flights and the bespoke Airbus A350-1000ULR.
The non-stop Sydney to London flight will take off in Oct 2027 and mark the first time Qantas has been able to link the two cities directly since it began flying between them in 1947.
Tickets for the route will go on sale in Feb 2027 and will complement Qantas’ existing Perth-London and SydneySingapore-London services.
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 of non-stop flying time.
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said, “Since we first flew the Kangaroo Route in 1947, where we stopped seven times on the way to London, every generation of aircraft has taken a stop out of the journey – today, we’re taking out the last one.”
Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Senator Don Farrell added, “This is a significant milestone for aviation and tourism in both Australia and the UK and a demonstration of the strong friendship between our two nations.”
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 United Kingdom.
Over the coming months, some of its pilots will also fly with Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, which operates the A350. The A350-1000ULR will initially fly across the Tasman when it’s received by Qantas.
This story first appeared in Travel Daily