Qantas announces Sydney-London as first Project Sunrise route.

Sydney and London will be connected with Qantas’ first ultra long-haul flight as part of its Project Sunrise initiative starting next fall (southern winter).  

As Qantas unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000ULR at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France, the Australian airline said its world-first non-stop service between Sydney and London will be launched in October 2027.

“The new non-stop flights will cut up to four hours off the travel time compared to current one-stop services. These historic ultra long-haul services will operate alongside Qantas’ existing Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London services. The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London services will go on sale in February 2027.”

The Sydney-London route has been part major part of Qantas’ history, in operation since 1947. Originally known as the “Kangaroo Route,” the four-day trip featured seven stops between the two cities: Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel, Benito, and Rome.

Since original Kangaroo Route operations, Qantas’ services to London Heathrow currently operate from Perth and Sydney via Singapore. With the new A350-1000ULR, Qantas will for the first time operate non-stop flights between the two cities separated by around 17000 kilometers.

The over 17-hour flight on the Perth-London route is Qantas’ current longest route covering 14499km. Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft are used on the flights. According to flightradar24, it is currently the 4th longest flight in the world.

Once launched, the non-stop Sydney-London service will be the world’s longest flight. The current record is held by Singapore Airlines with its 18-19 hour non-stop flights between Singapore and New York-JFK covering 15349km (great circle distance). The Singaporean national airline also holds the world’s second longest flight from Singapore to Newark which covers around 15344km. Singapore Airlines uses Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft on both non-stop routes to the New York City/Newark area.

Building on Qantas’ Current Long-Haul Network

Qantas first announced Project Sunrise in 2017 – an initiative to launch ultra long-haul routes from Australia which would reduce travel time compared to current one-stop services. Following the Sydney-London route, Qantas aims to launch non-stop flights from Sydney to New York.

The airline has selected specially manufactured A350-1000ULRs fitted with an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank to operate flights more than 16000km, or 22 hours non-stop. Each of the 12 aircraft ordered will be configured with 238 seats across four cabin classes including First suites, Business suites, and both Premium Economy and Economy seats. The cabin will also feature a Wellness Zone to promote movement and premium refreshments. Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi and Bluetooth audio connectivity will be available across all devices.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson noted how the airline is approaching a “fundamentally different” approach to long-haul travel saying: “Eliminating the stopover saves customers up to four hours of travel time. This aircraft has been designed from the ground up for ultra long-haul travel, with a cabin built around science and combatting jetlag, with an onboard experience purpose-built for the length of the journey.”

Leading up to the Sydney-London ultra long-haul flights, Qantas has built its long-haul routes which now includes services to London, Rome, and Paris from Perth, along with Melbourne-Dallas and Auckland-New York. The airline reports that over 1.7 million passengers have flown on the mentioned routes with the airline since 2018.

Project Sunrise Preparations

To prepare for the arrival of the A350-1000ULR in Australia next year, Qantas has reported pilot training has started on Australia’s first A350 simulator in Sydney and with British Airways in the United Kingdom (UK). Over the coming months, some of the pilots will also fly with Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.

According to the airline, its current A330 pilots are making up the initial intake of Project Sunrise pilots. 40 are already in the process of training for the A350 alongside their current operations on the A330.

More than 360 Qantas pilots and 1,200 cabin crew will be trained to operate Qantas’ fleet of Project Sunrise by the time the 12th aircraft arrives. The airline’s engineers have also started classroom training in Sydney which will be followed by cabin crew.