Qantas’s 22-hour nonstop flight from Sydney to London set to launch in October 2027

In 2017, Qantas launched Project Sunrise, challenging both Airbus and Boeing to build a plane that can fly nonstop from Australia's east coast all the way to cities like London and New York. Which was something  no plane could do at the time. 

But the project ran into serious trouble. The first plane was supposed to arrive five years earlier than it did, and the two main reasons for that delay were COVID, which shut down the aviation industry globally, and supply chain problems. 

Fast forwarding to June 2, the first of 12 aircraft ordered by Qantas has completed its first flight in Toulouse, France, specially modified for a trip like this. 

Challenging the aircraft 

The world's longest scheduled commercial flight, directly from Sydney to London, is set to take off in October 2027, topping the current record holder, Singapore Airlines' route between its city-state base and New York City, which covers 15,349 kilometres in under 19 hours. The announcement followed Qantas unveiling its newest long-haul aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000ULR , built to complete the 22-hour journey nonstop. 

In order to operate this route, Airbus extended the base A350-1000's range by 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 km) through a 20,000-litre rear centre fuel tank, creating the A350-1000ULR, Ultra Long Range. 

Unlike Singapore's Flight SQ24, which carries no economy passengers at all, Qantas will open the route to economy travellers.Their modified A350-1000ULR carries only 238 passengers compared to the standard 480, with six first class suites, 52 business class seats, 40 premium economy seats, and 140 economy seats on board. 

Speaking of Economy

The project is a major gamble for Qantas, costing billions in aircraft, cabin upgrades and research into passenger health on ultra-long flights. To pull it off, the airline needs to convince travellers to pay more to avoid layovers, while keeping the discomfort of a 22-hour flight to a minimum.

The current QF1 route, including a stopover in Singapore, takes 25 hours. The direct service will bring that down to between 19 and 22 hours, eliminating the stopover on the fabled Kangaroo Route, which once took five days and multiple stops to complete. 

Passengers will pay more for the direct flight than they do for the one-stop alternative through Singapore when tickets go on sale in February. But Qantas says the direct service will save up to four hours of travel time.

Since this will be the longest trip in human history, it is good to be prepared for landing.

Connecting to the ground

After choosing a flight that saves you four hours, it is a pretty bad decision to spend them trying to get a cab or riding a bus. Sure, if you are a local you just turn off airplane mode and mobile data is there, but if you are a foreigner, then what? Connect to the airport WiFi that disappears when you walk out the door, or use your eSIM that you bought at home before the flight?