Non-stop Sydney to London flights in 2025.
Qantas has announced a landmark order for Airbus A350-1000 jets capable of non-stop flights from Sydney to London.
The multibillion-dollar order brings the Australian carrier closer to launching record-breaking direct flights of nearly 20 hours on the lucrative ‘kangaroo route’ by mid-2025.
Other ultra-long non-stop routes the airline is eyeing are Melbourne to London and both Sydney and Melbourne to New York.
The deal is a breakthrough for the Qantas chief executive, Alan Joyce, who has described non-stop Sydney-London flights as the holy grail for the 101-year-old carrier.
“The A350 and Project Sunrise will make any city just one flight away from Australia,” Joyce said. “It’s the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance.”
Joyce promised the A350 would make those marathon flights more bearable than potential passengers might expect, with a cabin “specially designed for maximum comfort in all classes for long-haul flying.”
The Qantas order includes 12 A350s, 20 A321XLRs and 20 A220s as well as purchase rights for 106 more airplanes spread among the different types.
The A350’s will have fully-private first class suites with a separate armchair and bed: there will be six First suites in a layout of two 1-1-1 rows.
Each plane will also feature a “wellbeing zone” in the centre of the aircraft that includes a snack bar and screens showing movement and stretching exercises.
The A350s are also being designed to offer passengers more room, but 40% of the seats will be in premium cabins.
In 2018, Qantas started non-stop flights from Perth to London that take 17 hours to carry passengers 9,000 miles.
The world’s longest route is currently Singapore to New York, operated by Singapore Airlines, which takes 18 hours 50 minutes and travels just over 9,500 miles.
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