The Airbus A350-1000ULR after landing in Melbourne, Australia, on July 24, 2026.Image: keystone
The Australian airline Qantas wants to offer direct flights between the Australian east coast and Western Europe as well as New York in the future. A first test flight has now been successfully carried out with one of the new specialized aircraft.
July 24, 2026, 9:52 p.mJuly 24, 2026, 9:52 p.m
Qantas calls its project to connect the Australian east coast with Western Europe and New York via direct flights Project Sunrise because passengers will almost always experience a sunrise on the approximately 19-hour flights. Previously, you had to make at least one stop on such routes.
Qantas has now reached an important milestone for Project Sunrise. The Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, which was specially developed for “ultra” long-haul flights, completed a non-stop test flight of around 17,000 kilometers from Toulouse in France to Melbourne on the east coast of Australia. After just over 19 hours, the plane landed on Australian soil for the first time on Friday morning.
The test flight is considered a crucial step on the way to planned direct connections between Australia and Europe and North America. From October 2027, Qantas would like to fly non-stop from Sydney to London, among other things. The travel time could be up to 22 hours.
Almost a day on a plane
The Airbus A350-1000ULR took off from the Airbus production site in Toulouse at 7:33 a.m. local time on Thursday. The landing in Melbourne took place on Friday at 10:46 a.m. local time.
There were four Airbus test pilots and five flight test engineers on board. Various technical systems and operational procedures were checked during the flight. These include, among other things, fuel supply, air conditioning and other functions important for ultra-long-haul flights.
The first test flight of Project Sunrise was successful.Image: keystone
The aircraft and the Airbus test crew are scheduled to remain in Melbourne over the weekend. Two Qantas pilots will also join the crew for the planned return flight to Toulouse.
As Qantas chief technical pilot Alex Passerini told an Australian TV station, the return flight to France will take around 23 hours. The longer flight duration provides engineers with another opportunity to test the aircraft’s systems in realistic long-range conditions.
The crew’s working and rest times also play an important role in the planned connections. According to Qantas, it relies on data-based rest concepts so that pilots and cabin crew receive sufficient periods of recovery during extremely long flights.
The Airbus A350-1000ULR
The term ULR stands for “Ultra Long Range”. The Airbus A350-1000ULR was specially developed for particularly long non-stop connections.
An additional fuel tank with a capacity of around 20,000 liters should enable a range of almost 10,000 nautical miles or around 18,500 kilometers. This would allow the aircraft to cover routes that would be difficult or not economical to fly non-stop with conventional long-haul aircraft.
The Airbus A350-1000ULR offers space for 238 passengers.Image: keystone
Qantas is planning a comparatively spacious cabin configuration. The aircraft will only have 238 seats. Other variants of the Airbus A350-1000 often have more than 300 seats. The lower number of passengers creates more space for comfort offerings and at the same time reduces weight. Both are crucial for flight times of more than 20 hours.
Project Sunrise: Non-stop from Australia to London and New York
Under the name Project Sunrise, Qantas has been working on direct flight connections between the Australian east coast and important cities in Europe and North America since 2017.
The initial focus will be on non-stop flights between Sydney and London. Direct connections to New York are also planned. In earlier plans, Melbourne and Brisbane were also mentioned as possible starting points.
According to Qantas, which routes are actually offered will depend on passenger demand and operational requirements.
The first Qantas aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in April 2027
The aircraft now being tested is not yet a regular Qantas aircraft. The test Airbus has a beige exterior paintwork with company logos on the wing tips.
The first aircraft to be completely painted in the familiar white and red Qantas colors will be called “Vega”. The machine is currently in final assembly and is expected to be delivered to Qantas in April 2027. The Australian airline has ordered a total of twelve Airbus A350-1000ULRs. (ear)