There’s not long now until the world’s longest flight between Sydney and London takes off with passengers for the first time in October next year.
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And now travellers have yet another ultra-long-haul route to look forward to, with Qantas confirming it is set to launch non-stop services between Sydney and New York in mid-2028.
The Australian airline has said that the flights will cut more than three hours off the total travel time compared with one-stop services today. Tickets for the inaugural flight will go on sale from August 2027.
Dubbed “Project Sunrise”, flights will be operated by specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft which are fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank to allow for 22 hours in the air.
The first test aircraft successfully completed a 24 hour and 24 minute flight from Melbourne to Toulouse in July.
The name for the project is a reference to the “double sunrise” flights operated by Qantas between Crawley in Western Australia and RAF Base Koggala in what is now Sri Lanka during WWII.
Passengers aboard the Sydney to London services will spend a whopping 18 hours in the air – a daunting prospect for many, we’re sure.
But cabins aboard these planes have been designed to keep passengers feeling fresh despite the long distances.
“Flying these distances is only worth doing if our customers arrive feeling their best, and that belief has shaped everything we've built,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said.
“Over the past decade, working alongside experts, we've designed the aircraft and the onboard experience around the science of ultra long-haul travel, from the lighting to the meals to a world-first Wellbeing Zone. This is a fundamentally different way to fly.”
Passengers in all classes will have access to the “Wellbeing Zone”, which has guided on-screen movement programmes you can complete using the integrated stretch handles, as well as refreshments.
Economy cabins have 140 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration with a larger seat pitch than current Qantas aircraft.
In economy plus, the seat pitch is 34 inches, while business class passengers have an 80-inch flat bed.
First class customers have the same bed set up, as well as a separate reclining armchair and a full-length wardrobe.