Qantas settles on A350-1000 for its ultra long haul ambitions
Boeing loses out on this Project Sunrise race, although no orders have been placed with Airbus, yet. What Is Qantas’ Project Sunrise? Qantas’ Project Sunrise is essential a challenge aimed at planemakers back in 2017 for an aircraft that has the ability to fly non-stop, with full payload, from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York. Being geographically challenged, Qantas has traditionally serviced faraway destinations with a stop in between, such as Sydney-Singapore-London and Melbourne-Los Angeles-New York. Currently the world’s longest flight is operated by Singapore Airlines’ A350-900ULR on its Singapore-Newark service. That flight covers a distance of over 9,500 miles and takes about 18 hours each way. Qantas’ own longest flight at the moment is the Sydney-Dallas Fort-Worth service, an 8,400-mile service served by an Airbus A380. This will soon be overtaken a new Brisbane-Chicago service that Qantas is starting from April 2020, which will top out at some 8,900 miles, taking between 16 and 17 hours. The project name is a nod to the original Kangaroo route in the 1940s from London …