Qantas, a 19-hour non-stop flight on an Airbus A350-1000ULR from Toulouse to Melbourne

Qantas has stated that the aircraft is the first A350-1000ULR to take off. The same aircraft had completed its maiden flight on 2 June, lasting three hours and 43 minutes, flying over France and the French Atlantic coast, and has since undergone numerous tests.

The test model does not feature Qantas’s official red and white livery, but has a beige bodywork bearing the airline’s branding and Qantas logos on the wingtips.

The new route, which will commence operations in October 2027 with a daily non-stop service between London and Sydney, is set to become the world’s longest commercial flight. Tickets will go on sale from February next year.

For the first time, it will be possible to travel between the UK and the east coast of Australia on a single, direct, non-stop journey, saving up to four hours compared with the fastest connection with a stopover currently available.

The first flight from Sydney dates back to 1947, when the Kangaroo Route involved seven stopovers on the journey from London to Sydney. Over time, each new generation of aircraft has gradually reduced the number of stopovers, and now, with Project Sunrise, even the last one is being eliminated, marking a world first in the aviation industry.

The Airbus A350-1000ULR, which will join the Qantas fleet from 2027, has been specifically designed for this type of flight, with the in-flight experience completely reimagined for ultra-long-haul journeys. From cabin lighting, calibrated to the destination’s time zones, to a Wellbeing Zone – the first of its kind in the world – ushering in a new era of travel.

Following the launch of its London service, Qantas will introduce a non-stop service to New York.

The Australian airline has ordered 12 aircraft of this type, capable of carrying up to 238 passengers – fewer than the 300 carried by the standard A350-1000 version – leaving more space for passengers who will need to move about on such a long flight.

Other airlines are exploring this field of ultra-long-haul flights: Singapore Airlines, for example, currently sets the benchmark in this category with its 18-hour Singapore–New York flight. Qantas itself already operates a 17-hour non-stop direct service from Perth to London using the Boeing 787-9, as well as services from London, Rome and Paris to Perth, in addition to direct services between Dallas and Sydney and New York and Auckland.

The Sydney–London route will add further hours of flight time with an aircraft set to be the longest in the world.