Qantas readies jet for 22-hour nonstop London run

Qantas modified – Qantas says it has unveiled the specially modified Airbus A350-1000ULR for Project Sunrise—an ultra-long-haul aircraft designed for up to 22 hours nonstop between Sydney and London. The airline also plans 10,000-mile flights, with bookings opening in February

For years, Project Sunrise has lived on the edge of expectation—half promise, half delay. Now Qantas has something concrete enough to weigh in your hand: a specially modified Airbus A350-1000ULR. built for the world’s longest kind of travel. where “nearly a day in the air” stops being a slogan and becomes the daily math of fuel. cabins. and bodies.

Last week. Australia’s national carrier unveiled the centerpiece of its Project Sunrise initiative: a modified A350-1000ULR designed for new 10. 000-mile flights that could last up to 22 hours nonstop. The aircraft is now set for a certification push as Airbus begins flight testing in France. moving the project from concept to a machine that can be measured.

The flight-test work matters because Qantas has had to engineer endurance not just into the aircraft’s range, but into the experience passengers will try to survive.

The nose-to-tail changes are designed around Qantas’ research into how ultra-long flights affect passenger movement, sleep, and alertness. Qantas says the goal is to make “nearly a day in the air more bearable” through structural enhancements. extra fuel capacity. an ultra-premium first-class cabin. and a dedicated wellbeing zone.

Airbus flight testing in France is also tied to an important deadline for the market. If the program follows its intended path, bookings for the first Project Sunrise flight between Sydney and London will open in February 2027, with the inaugural flight scheduled to take off in October 2027.

When it arrives, it will replace what Qantas calls its current one-stop routing. The nonstop service is expected to cut travel time to London by four hours.

It also threatens a long-held headline in international aviation. Qantas’ nonstop route would dethrone Singapore Airlines’ current world’s longest flight between Singapore and New York, which takes 19 hours and covers about 9,500 miles.

Qantas’ next city after London is also on the calendar. The timing for nonstop service to New York—its second planned Project Sunrise destination using a slightly shorter eastbound route across the Pacific—and other international destinations will be announced next year.

The business case is shaped by exclusivity and capacity math. Project Sunrise is expected to open new market opportunities for Qantas by drawing premium leisure and business travelers willing to pay for the convenience of nonstop flights. Flyers will likely pay a premium for tickets because the plane will have lower capacity. and because higher fuel and crew expenses. along with its exclusivity on the nonstop route. will follow the same physics as the range.

After testing wraps, the aircraft will be stripped of its test equipment, outfitted with cabins, and delivered to Qantas.

Project delayed for years—then forced into details

This is not a quick build. Qantas’ long-awaited Project Sunrise flights are described as being about five years behind schedule, with delays tied to COVID-related constraints, the complexity of the A350 redesign, defects on the plane’s Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, and supply chain bottlenecks.

Even so, Qantas is framing the project as a kind of full-circle moment. The name “Project Sunrise” nods to the airline’s “double sunrise” route that more than 80 years ago connected Australia and England via several stops over multiple days during World War II.

Range begins with fuel—then with monitoring

To achieve record-breaking range, the special A350 requires key modifications. The most striking is a new 5,300-gallon rear-center fuel tank that complements three other tanks in the belly and wings. Airbus says the tanks have “highly sensitive sensors” that continuously monitor fuel flow, temperature, and overall performance.

Qantas’ aircraft also includes a new galley cooling system designed to reduce weight and keep catering fresh for longer. But Airbus says these systems must be thoroughly tested before certification.

For the certification campaign, Airbus is using a test aircraft that is the same one destined for Qantas’ fleet. That tight link left little room for error, so Airbus custom-built five metric tons of monitoring equipment to support the program.

To validate the galley system’s cabin conditions, Airbus is using “dummy” passengers to simulate the body heat of real people and to monitor cabin temperature.

The tests are being carried out by highly specialized Airbus experimental test pilots and flight test engineers. Training is already underway for the operational side: more than 360 pilots and 1,200 flight attendants are being trained for Qantas’ planned fleet of 12 Project Sunrise A350-1000ULRs.

The cabin is built like a small hotel, with a wellness zone

Qantas says its ULR fleet will carry a low-density, premium-heavy cabin with 238 seats—far fewer than the roughly 400 passengers a typical A350-1000 variant can accommodate.

The cabin is split across four sections: six seats in first class, 52 in business class, 40 in premium economy, and 140 in regular coach. Qantas expects first class to be highly priced.

First class is positioned as an experience reserved for a select set of airlines: Qantas will join the handful of other airlines that have separate beds in first class, such as Singapore and Etihad.

Qantas’ first-class suite is described as having a sliding door, a separate recliner, and an 80-inch bed. Passengers are promised a full-length wardrobe and space for two people to chat or dine together—“like a mini hotel room,” Qantas says.

In business class, the airline plans lie-flat, suite-style seats with a door. Premium economy will feature leg and footrests and winged headrests.

Economy class will offer more legroom than on any of its other planes. Beyond the seating tiers, Qantas is adding a wellbeing zone in an open space between economy and premium economy for stretching, movement, and hydration, with Qantas saying even coach class is welcome.

The cabin experience also leans heavily on circadian rhythm design. Qantas says the entire cabin will feature enhanced lighting and circadian rhythm systems. including 12 lighting scenes—“Sunrise. ” “Sunset. ” and “Awake. ” among them—designed to help passengers adjust to their destination time zone and mitigate jet lag. Meal timing and flexible dining options are also part of Qantas’ plan to improve the onboard experience.

In a press release, Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said: “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.”

What passengers might pay for a plane that only goes one way

For a sense of pricing, the source notes that a Qantas one-stop to London this summer often costs roughly $2,000 round-trip, while first class can exceed $20,000.

The stakes of Project Sunrise are therefore clear in the way the project is being built: a plane designed for endurance. a cabin designed for recovery. and a route designed to reduce travel time by four hours—while still asking premium travelers to pay for the low-capacity privilege of being able to cross the world without stopping.

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