Qantas Confirms First Project Sunrise Route: Non-Stop Flights Between Sydney and London Starting October 2027

Dergam Mousa

1 day ago

Australian flag carrier Qantas has confirmed it will launch its revolutionary non-stop services between Sydney and London in October 2027. This operational milestone will mark the first time in history that the iconic route will be flown direct and non-stop from Australia’s east coast, shaving up to four hours off current travel times compared to single-stop services.

The announcement coincides with the unveiling of the first Airbus A350-1000 Ultra Long Range (ULR) aircraft sporting the official Qantas livery at Airbus’s manufacturing facilities in Toulouse, as part of the development of the so-called Project Sunrise.

End of Commercial Aviation’s Final Frontier

The evolution of the journey between Australia and the United Kingdom epitomizes the technological advancement of the commercial aviation industry:

In 1947: The original route required four days of travel and made seven intermediate stops—in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito, and Rome—before landing in the United Kingdom.
In 2027: Eighty years later, advances in technology will eliminate the final intermediate stop on the journey.

Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson described this step as the most significant in the airline’s 105-year history. “We made a commitment in 2017 that Qantas would conquer the final frontier of long-haul aviation and connect Australia’s east coast directly with London… From October 2027, that promise becomes a reality,” she stated.

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Technical Specifications of the Airbus A350-1000ULR

Airbus has meticulously adapted the aircraft’s design to meet the extreme operational requirements of these ultra-long-haul missions:

Fuel and Range: The aircraft incorporates an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 20,000 liters, enabling a range of over 16,000 kilometers and supporting up to 22 hours of uninterrupted, non-stop flight.
Fleet Configuration: The carrier will induct a total of 12 aircraft of this type, configured internally with 238 seats strategically distributed across four cabins.
Program Status: While the first airframe was unveiled in Toulouse, a second aircraft is already completing its eight-week flight test and certification program after successfully performing its maiden flight earlier this month.

Tickets for the first direct flights will go on sale in February 2027, with regular daily frequencies scheduled to commence by the end of that year. These new non-stop services will operate alongside the airline’s existing routes via Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London.

Growing Demand and a Science-Based Approach

Recent market research backs the airline’s strategy, showing that booking intent among passengers for direct ultra-long-haul flights increased from 58% to 70% since February this year. Within the premium fare traveler segment, preference reaches 80%, climbing 12 percentage points over the same period.

This interest is driven by Qantas’s prior track record; since 2018, more than 1.7 million passengers have flown its direct long-haul routes (such as Perth to London, Rome, and Paris; Melbourne to Dallas; and Auckland to New York), yielding the highest customer satisfaction scores across the company’s entire international network.

To ensure passenger well-being on such prolonged journeys, the A350-1000ULR cabin was designed from the ground up utilizing medical science to combat jetlag, tailoring the inflight experience specifically to the duration of the flight.

Operational Readiness

The preparation of flight and cabin crews is already underway on the ground and in the air:

Pilot Training: Aviators have commenced simulator sessions on Australia’s first A350 flight simulator, installed in Sydney, alongside receiving training with British Airways in the United Kingdom. In the coming months, some personnel will also operate alongside Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.
Assigned Personnel: An initial group of 40 Airbus A330 pilots is already cross-training on the new type in parallel with their current flying duties. By the end of the project, more than 360 pilots and 1,200 cabin crew members will be fully type-rated and qualified.
Maintenance: Qantas engineers have already started classroom training in Sydney, a phase that cabin crew will begin shortly.

Next Steps for Project Sunrise

The deployment of these ultra-long-range aircraft will eventually link the Australian east coast with other key international hubs. The airline reaffirmed that the non-stop route between Sydney and New York is confirmed as the next service to launch immediately after the London leg. The exact launch dates for this North American connection will be publicly announced next year.