{"id":826594,"date":"2026-07-27T08:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/826594\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T08:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T08:53:09","slug":"project-sunrise-first-test-flight-between-europe-and-australia-for-qantas-a350-1000ulr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/826594\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Sunrise: First test flight between Europe and Australia for Qantas\u2019 A350-1000ULR"},"content":{"rendered":"

It became the second most tracked flight ever on its way to Australia and now the world\u2019s longest-range commercial aircraft is heading back to Europe.<\/p>\n

The Airbus A350-1000ULR \u2013 custom-built for Qantas to fly non-stop between Sydney and London from October 2027<\/a> \u2013 embarked on its first journey to Australia last week.<\/p>\n

The historic test flight took off from Toulouse, France on Thursday, July 23 at 7.33am local time (3.33pm AEST) and touched down in Melbourne on Friday, July 24 after 19 hours and 12 minutes.<\/p>\n

The aircraft began its return flight just before 5.30pm on Monday, July 27 and will test one of the longest commercial routes possible with the aircraft.<\/p>\n

Before take off, it already became the most tracked flight in the world on Monday afternoon, with more than 10,000 people watching.<\/p>\n

The block time is expected to be a whopping 23 hours. That is from when the aircraft first moves away from the departure gate until it stops at the destination with chocks on.<\/p>\n

\"Qantas'<\/p>\n

There were 75,000 people watching the landing live on Friday on flight tracker Flightradar24.<\/p>\n

Flightradar24 confirmed it was the second most tracked flight ever, only second to Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s final flight carrying her coffin from Edinburgh to London in 2022.<\/p>\n

The flight tracking platform reported 2,972,670 total follows over the 19 hour journey.<\/p>\n

The test flight to Australia had four Airbus pilots and five flight test engineers on board. On the way back, two Qantas pilots will join the Airbus flight test crew.<\/p>\n

The flights are significant in testing the jet\u2019s specialised fuel system, which includes an additional 20,000 litre rear centre fuel tank that other A350-1000s do not have.<\/p>\n

The extra fuel tank will allow the aircraft to fly commercially non-stop for up to 22 hours.<\/p>\n

The aircraft had successfully completed its very first test flight of three hours 43 minutes over France and the French Atlantic Coast on June 2.<\/p>\n

Qantas first announced Project Sunrise in 2017, and then ordered 12 custom-designed A350-1000ULR aircraft from Airbus in 2022.<\/p>\n

The first aircraft was supposed to be delivered this year, but the delivery date has been delayed until April 2027. After the first aircraft is delivered, the remaining 11 will follow over the next two and a half years.<\/p>\n

Melbourne gets a test flight but not the real thing<\/p>\n

While the milestone test flight landed in Melbourne, there has been no indication when the city could actually get the non-stop flights for real.<\/p>\n

News.com.au was at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse in June when Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson announced the first Project Sunrise route would be Sydney-London. Flights go on sale in February and take off in October next year.<\/p>\n

Ms Hudson is expecting the Sydney-New York route to launch soon after the London service in the last couple months of 2027.<\/p>\n

Qantas needs three aircraft to service each route daily, meaning there will be another six aircraft delivered after the Sydney-London and Sydney-New York daily services are up and running.<\/p>\n

But, Ms Hudson would not disclose when Melbourne-London or Melbourne-New York could become a reality, only that there will be discussions after Sydney.<\/p>\n

\"Qantas<\/p>\n

Ms Hudson said they hoped the launch of Sydney-London would stimulate demand for the service out of other airports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to be able to be announcing the routes progressively as the new aircraft come in over the next two and a half years,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cDemand can change. We know how demand can change, and we\u2019re going to be responsive to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

When news.com.au asked Qantas chief financial officer Rob Marcolina why Sydney was chosen to kick start the Project Sunrise flights over Melbourne he said it was the size of the market that gave Sydney the advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither would have been a great choice, but one of them had to go first and I think we\u2019re really comfortable with it coming out of Sydney,\u201d said the CFO, who is from Melbourne himself but now lives in Sydney.<\/p>\n

The airline\u2019s intention is to actually use those ultra-long range aircraft that arrive after the first six on existing routes like Perth-London and Auckland-New York.<\/p>\n

Ms Hudson said it meant they could redeploy older aircraft and potentially further unlock new routes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will free up the 787 and enable us to expand the network more broadly,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201c(An) exciting destination that we\u2019ve wanted to fly to for years has been Chicago \u2013 locking in the east coast to Chicago. Potentially there are other ports in North America, in Canada, in South America and also from the west out of Perth to seasonally connect potentially Athens or Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sydney to London via the North Pole<\/p>\n

Qantas\u2019 chief technical pilot Alex Passerini revealed an unusual flight path<\/a> for the non-stop Sydney-London flight.<\/p>\n

The new \u2018north polar flight path\u2019 will be used for about 20 per cent of the flights, particularly during the northern winter.<\/p>\n

It may seem strange for the airline to choose the long way to London in terms of distance, but by avoiding winds at certain times of the year and with less air traffic, it can actually end up being the faster option.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Very<\/p>\n

Mr Passerini explained to news.com.au at Airbus headquarters in France that there are airlines that transverse the North Pole region today, but this will be a first for a commercial airline out of Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole approach is very different to what we used to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re flying over the North Pacific, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland and into London from the north, which, you know, you really have to stop and have a think about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s different air space we traverse, slightly different procedures, there\u2019s some different things to think about in the polar region. Things like communications and space weather,\u201d Mr Passerini said. \u201cWe go around the South Pole area on our flights to South America, so, we\u2019re familiar with the South Pole region, but this is new for us as the North Pole region.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Qantas\u2019 planning so far, the fastest flight time from Sydney to London would be 19 hours and 25 minutes, and the slowest would be 20 hours and 55 minutes. The flight time from Sydney to London is expected to be faster, between 18 and 20 hours.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/p>\n

Flight will turn dark for 12 hours<\/p>\n

Passengers will cross between nine and 11 time zones on the journey to London and a whopping 14 to 16 on the New York flight, depending on the time of year.<\/p>\n

Stuck in a plane for 21 hours and crossing time zones faster than their internal clocks, there is a lot to consider regarding the health of these future customers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is the challenge of sleep deprivation or mistimed sleep, fatigue and jet lag, long periods of immobility, and potential dehydration.<\/p>\n

Qantas called on the expertise of Peter Cistulli, a professor of sleep medicine at the University of Sydney\u2019s Charles Perkins Centre, to help.<\/p>\n

Prof Cistulli explained that the traditional aeroplane model was to get passengers onto the aircraft safely, feed them, turn the lights out, then wake them up and feed them again.<\/p>\n

But an optimised approach involved deliberately timing meals and sleep.<\/p>\n

He said the strength of lighting, the colour and timing was \u201cvery important\u201d in influencing our circadian clock, as well as what meals were served up and when.<\/p>\n

\u201cLight is the strongest environmental cue for the body clock,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Qantas decided on 12 lighting scenes for the A350-1000ULR, including a sunrise and sunset that gradually roll through the cabin, to help customers adjust.<\/p>\n

Passengers can expect a huge 12 hour window of darkness to encourage sleep on the Sydney-London flight.<\/p>\n

As for the food, Prof Cistulli said before sleep on the flight you want \u201cnot heavy, low fat, more protein\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can use spices strategically when you want people to stay awake,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s looking like customers will still have the choice to participate.<\/p>\n

When news.com.au asked if all the food would be optimised, Prof Cistulli said the optimised meal would likely just be an option on the menu with an asterisk indicating it\u2019s the recommendation.<\/p>\n

There is no detail yet on what the meals will be.<\/p>\n

The aircraft also has a wellness zone located between premium economy and economy that is available to everyone, with guided exercises developed by the Charles Perkins Centre.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Qantas<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It became the second most tracked flight ever on its way to Australia and now the world\u2019s 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