London is first in line for the longest commercial flight the world has ever seen. Then it’s New York.
Beginning next fall, Qantas Airways will add nonstop service to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) from Sydney, a route that’s set to become the world’s longest once it begins in October 2027. Tickets for the route are expected to go on sale in February.
Flights from Sydney to New York will begin a “short time after,” Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said Wednesday during a ceremony at Airbus’ delivery center in Toulouse, France.
The impending flights bring Qantas close to completing its “Progress Sunrise” initiative that it launched in 2017, when it challenged jetmakers Airbus and Boeing to develop an aircraft capable of flying from Australia’s East Coast to New York and London with a full load of passengers.
No current commercial passenger jet is capable of flying those routes, though Qantas flew lightly loaded Boeing 787s on “research” flights on both routes in 2019.
Behind the scenes: What it was like on the 19-hour Project Sunrise flight from New York in 2019
Since then, Airbus’ new Airbus A350-100ULR – the ULR is short for “ultra long range” – was developed to meet Qantas’ challenge. The first ULR variant of the A350 rolled off Airbus’ assembly line near Toulouse earlier this month and is now set for several months of testing before it can enter into service for Qantas next year.
Qantas teased the launch of its Project Sunrise service earlier this week, saying it would reveal the first city pairs for the flights. It was widely expected that either New York or London would land the nonstop Sydney service, and Qantas confirmed Wednesday that the Heathrow would get the initial flights — followed by John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Qantas has 12 of the ULR variants on order, saying it would eventually use those to add other ultra-long routes from Australia’s East Coast, though the carrier said it had not yet decided what those might be.
For now, Qantas seemed intent on drumming up excitement for its planned services from Sydney to London and New York.
“The tyranny of distance for Australians has finally been conquered,” Hudson said at Wednesday’s festivities.
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