Qantas’ non-stop Sydney–London flights take off in October 2027

Qantas says the first non-stop flights between Sydney and London will take off in October 2027, with Sydney–New York to follow by the end of the same year.

The airline describes this program, dubbed Project Sunrise, as “a new dawn of travel” where airport stopovers halfway through the journey are a thing of the past.

This 22-hour marathon will take place on specially-modified Airbus A350 jets, with an additional fuel tank in the aircraft’s belly extending its range as far as 18,000km, with Sydney-London coming in just under that at 17,000km.

The ultra-long range Qantas A350 jets will connect Sydney and London in 22 hours straight.

It’ll set a new record for the world’s longest commercial flight, eclipsing the roughly 19-hour, 15,400 km Singapore-New York route of rival Singapore Airlines.

And London, long a favourite for the first Project Sunrise flight, was an obvious choice for Qantas.

“London is the biggest long-haul market for us, so first and foremost it’s where demand is greatest,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson told a media briefing at Airbus HQ in Toulouse, France, to mark the inaugural announcement.

“And there’s a really nice tie to the history of Qantas – the Kangaroo Route has always connected Australia to the UK, it’s one of the oldest routes we’ve got.”

The flights – which have been tipped to take over the QF1/QF2 numbers now assigned to the Sydney-London A380s, with Hudson enthusing “it would be great to see it carry that badge” – will depart Sydney in the early afternoon, to reach London in the early morning.

However, they’ll spend extra time on the ground at Heathrow before heading back to Sydney, in order to fit in with Sydney Airport’s curfew.

Next up, New York...

Hudson added that Sydney-New York would begin towards the end of 2027 at a less-than-daily frequency.

In addition to the three jets needed to launch daily Sydney-London flights, the fourth and fifth would be delivered by November and used to launch Sydney-New York, which will run for a more modest 18-hours.

Sydney-New York would be increased to daily in the first half of 2028 when the sixth A350 is handed over.

However, Executive Traveller understands the planned Melbourne non-stops to London and New York are now being reconsidered for the second wave of Project Sunrise flights.

Instead, Hudson said that after the sixth aircraft is delivered, the next six A350-1000ULRs will appear on key existing long-range routes – such as Perth-London – which will in turn free up the Boeing 787s now flying on that route to be swung on existing or new routes.

Hudson has also clarified pricing, saying fares on the non-stop Sunrise flights would be equivalent to Perth-London and Sydney-Auckland-New York, which themselves carry a roughly 20% premium over the Qantas alternatives.

She also confirmed that Qantas Points could be used to snare a Classic Reward seat in every cabin, including first class, along with the more expensive Classic Plus seats.

An endurance test for passengers?

But for the 238 passengers on board, it could prove an endurance test – especially for those in economy, despite a little extra legroom and the plane’s unique ‘wellbeing zone’ where travellers are encouraged to stand and stretch.

Qantas maintains its current stopover routes — such as Sydney-Singapore-London and Sydney-Auckland-New York — will remain, giving passengers the choice to break their journey.

In the plus column for Project Sunrise: saving up to four hours in overall travel time, and the convenience of not needing to break your journey.

Just settle into your seat and then relax, work, sleep or watch all eight Harry Potter movies from start to finish (saying ‘Accio Champagne’ when you press the call button is optional).

Each A350 is crowned by six private suites with 1.4m-high walls, a separate reclining 22"-wide armchair and lie-flat 2 metre bed.

Qantas A350 first class.

The middle suite will swap the window for a special lighting panel which will help mimic the timezone at your destination, to help your body clock adapt.

Qantas A350 first class.

Boasting a footprint more than 50% larger than their A380 equivalents, there’s a personal wardrobe plus in-suite space for your cabin and companion dining in ‘table-for-two’ mode.

Qantas A350 first class.

The A350 will also debut Qantas’ best-ever business class: 52 cosy suites with 47" walls and sliding privacy doors.

Qantas A350 business class.

The 25"-wide seat will fold down into a 2-metre bed.

Qantas A350 business class.

Each Qantas A350 business suite also comes with multiple handy storage nooks, an 18" video screen with Bluetooth audio, plus four charging outlets – AC, USB-C, USB-A and wireless.

Qantas A350 business class.

Further down the back of the (Air)bus: 40 extra-legroom premium economy seats.

Qantas A350 premium economy.

Nestled within their own dedicated cabin, these sculpted recliners will be set at a 40" pitch – two inches more than on the Qantas A380s and 787s – with ‘privacy wings’, a 13.3" 4K video screen with Bluetooth streaming and USB-C power.

Qantas A350 premium economy.

And for those brave enough to make a 20+ hour flight in economy, there’ll be 140 standard economy seats set at a 33" pitch (one inch above the A380 and 787) plus the same 13.3" screen and USB-C outlets as premium economy.

Qantas A350 economy.

Economy and premium economy passengers will be encouraged to take full advantage of the inflight ‘Wellbeing Zone’ to stand, move through guided movement exercises with the help of video demonstrations, or just chat with fellow passengers to pass the time and break up the journey.

Qantas A350 Wellbeing Zone.

The A350 becomes Qantas’ future flagship

The first of the 12 ultra-long-range A350-1000 jets is due to arrive in the Qantas hangars in April 2027.

Two more will follow by mid-year, allowing Qantas to begin daily Sydney-New York flights.

Qantas will also use a follow-up order of A350-1000 jets – although without the extra fuel tank – to replace and retire its double-decker A380 superjumbos from the early 2030s.

Read more: Qantas to retire A380 superjumbo, replace with A350

David Flynn travelled to Toulouse as a guest of Qantas and Airbus.