Passengers traveling between Sydney and London or Sydney and New York will soon be able to travel non-stop across more than 10,000 miles as Australia’s national carrier Qantas prepares to launch its longest-ever direct commercial flights.The routes are part of the airline’s Sunrise programme, expected to begin in the first half of 2027, using specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR (ultra long range) aircraft. Each journey is expected to last approximately 22 hours, and travelers can watch two sunrises in one flight as the aircraft effectively chases daylight around the globe.The project is one of the most ambitious attempts yet to reinvent the long-haul aviation industry by eliminating traditional refueling stops.
A 22-hour journey designed to transform long-distance travel
The new direct flights will connect Sydney to London (10,573 miles) and Sydney to New York (10,100 miles), distances that currently require at least one refueling stop.According to Qantas, eliminating these stopovers could shave four hours off existing travel times, fundamentally changing the way passengers travel between Australia, Europe and North America.Qantas launched Project Sunrise in 2017 to operate direct flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York.Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the project, announced at a Qantas event in September 2024 at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) hangar, aims to overcome the historic “tyranny of distance” that has long affected travel to and from Australia and “fundamentally transform the way our customers travel the world”.Hudson added:“These flights will shorten journeys by up to four hours and transform the way people experience ultra-long-distance travel with science-backed design to minimize jet lag and maximize well-being.”The aircraft chosen for the project is an Airbus A350-1000ULR, selected following Qantas’ order for 12 specially modified aircraft in May 2022.Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines and equipped with additional 20,000-litre fuel tanks, the aircraft has a much longer range than the standard version of the A350.The first of the aircraft is scheduled for delivery in late 2026, with test flights planned between Australia and New Zealand to allow pilots and crew to familiarize themselves with the aircraft before long-haul operations begin.
Why is it called “Sunrise Project”?
The program’s name comes from the unique nature of these ultra-long flights.Passengers can expect to see two sunrises on one journey, which aviation enthusiasts say will become the route’s defining experience.The aircraft will leave Sydney in the evening and head west across Asia and the Middle East. Because the plane effectively chases daylight across time zones, passengers will watch the sun rise once during their trip and then again closer to Europe or North America.
Qantas Airbus A350-1000ULR (Ultra Long Range) aircraft photographed at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. /Qantas
The name also echoes aviation history. During World War II, so-called “double sunrise” flights operated between Perth and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). These endurance missions were so long that the sun rose twice during the journey.
Aircraft interior preview
Daily Mail reporter Paudie Prendergast, who was invited by Qantas to preview aspects of the project, described visiting a mock-up of the cabin health area and touring the aircraft maintenance facility.He wrote that he made a “brief stop” in Hangar 96 at the Qantas jet base at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport, where the new aircraft will be maintained.The airline plans to significantly reduce passenger density inside the aircraft compared to standard A350 aircraft.The Project Sunrise layout will carry 238 passengers instead of the usual 300-plus seats, with the following arrangements:
- 6 first class suites (1-1-1 configuration)
- 52 business suites (1-2-1 configuration)
- 40 Premium Economy seats (2-4-2 configuration)
- 140 economy class seats (3-3-3 layout)
Qantas Sunrise Plan
High-speed Wi-Fi will be available free of charge in all cabins, and the reduced seat count is intended to give passengers more room to move around during the unusually long journey.
35,000-foot “Wellness Zone”
One of the plane’s most unusual features is a dedicated wellness area designed to help passengers relieve the physical stress of nearly a full day in the air.According to Prendergast’s preview, the space will offer self-serve healthy refreshments designed to stay hydrated, as well as space for stretching and light exercise.Large screens will display guided stretches, and the walls will feature exercise handles to support movement during flight.Prendergast describes the space as “effectively a 35,000-foot yoga studio (sort of), or just a place where people might want to socialize.”The aircraft’s interior designer David Caon, who has been involved in the project since 2018, told MailOnline daily mail Balancing aesthetic and engineering constraints is a complex task.He said:“We had a team of six working full-time for two years – factors such as aircraft weight, maintainability, safety and comfort all had to be weighed against the aesthetic decisions we made.”
Designing flights to reduce jet lag
Because journeys are extremely long, Qantas has teamed up with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Center to research ways to reduce fatigue and jet lag.The research influenced several aspects of cabin design, including lighting patterns and meal times.The lighting system will replicate the “unique light quality of the Australian outback”, while food and beverage service times will adjust to passengers’ circadian rhythms, helping travelers adapt to new time zones more easily.
From multi-day journeys to single flights
The upcoming flights represent a dramatic shift from earlier days of travel between Australia and Europe.The route between Sydney and London, historically known as the “Kangaroo Route”, once took days.In the 1940s, passengers traveled on Lockheed Constellation aircraft, stopping at Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Tripoli and Rome, often staying overnight in Singapore and Cairo.Those early planes relied on four propeller engines and had cramped cabins, making journeys long, noisy and far less comfortable than modern long-distance travel.Even so, these flights were once considered a technological marvel.Nowadays, a journey that originally took four or five days can soon be completed in one day.
The next step for ultra-long-haul aviation
Project Sunrise will surpass the current longest non-stop passenger flight, which runs between Singapore and New York at just over 19 hours.Other very long routes exist, such as flights between Shanghai and Buenos Aires, but these journeys involve refueling.In contrast, Qantas’ new service will remain in the air for the entire journey.If successful, they could signal a broader shift toward direct ultra-long-haul travel, potentially reshaping the way airlines design aircraft and long-haul routes in the coming years.
