Qantas jet lands in Australia after 19-hour non-stop test flight from France
The Australian carrier plans to start selling tickets for its non-stop flight in February, CEO Vanessa Hudson told an event in Toulouse, France, in June, Reuters reported.
Qantas’s A350-1000ULR, a commercial jet designed to fly directly from London, U.K., to Sydney, Australia, completed a crucial test flight on Friday after cruising non-stop for almost 20 hours.
The first A350-1000ULR to take to the skies touched down in Melbourne on Friday, following an extensive test flight from Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France, the airline said in a news release.
The flight was operated by four Airbus test pilots and five test engineers, who were tasked with putting the aircraft’s systems through their paces, including the 20,000-litre fuel tank that allows it to fly commercially non-stop for up to 22 hours.
Its return flight to Toulouse will take off from Melbourne on July 27 as part of the flight test program. Two Qantas pilots will be on board for the journey back to France, the company said.
The Sydney-based airline unveiled the first of its specially-modified Airbus A350-1000 jets that will regularly make the 17,015-kilometre journey from London to Sydney last month, with the flight between the two cities expected to take between 19 and 22 hours.
The current longest regularly scheduled direct flight in the world is Singapore Airlines’ route between its city-state base and New York City. The distance of 15,349 km is flown in under 19 hours.
A significant difference between the flights is that Singapore’s doesn’t facilitate economy passengers.
While a regular Airbus A350-1000 can carry up to 480 passengers, Qantas’ A350-1000ULR will carry 238, with 140 of those in what is colloquially termed “cattle class” on flights between London and Sydney, with all passengers being granted access to a Wellbeing Zone where self-serve refreshments and room to stretch your legs will be available. First, Business, and Premium Economy tickets will also be available for purchase.
Currently, the farthest an economy passenger can fly on a direct flight is on Qantas’ flight from London to Perth on Australia’s west coast. The 14,499-km journey takes between 16 and 18 hours. Sydney is on Australia’s east coast, almost 4,000 km from Perth.
The Australian carrier plans to start selling tickets for its non-stop flight in February, CEO Vanessa Hudson told an event in Toulouse, France, in June, Reuters reported.
While there won’t be a direct flight to Sydney from any of Canada’s major cities, the airline will offer flights from New York to Sydney using modified Airbus A350-1000ULR jets capable of flying up to 22 hours with 238 passengers on board as part of the company’s “Project Sunrise.”
The project is part of an overhaul that began in 2017 when Qantas challenged Airbus and Boeing to develop planes capable of ultra-long-haul, non-stop routes from Australia.
The aim is to cut what was once a five-day trek on the “Kangaroo Route” to London to a single hop of 19 to 21 hours, depending on routing and winds.
Qantas will use polar routes about a quarter of the time, especially during the northern winter. The trip now takes some 24 to 25 hours via Singapore.
The first aircraft, named Vega, will be delivered in April 2027. Starting in October, Qantas will operate daily non-stop flights from London to Sydney.
–with files from the Associated Press and Reuters
This story was originally published by Global News on July 24, 2026. CityAM Canada is republishing it for our Canadian readers.