Qantas's new ultra long-range Airbus just flew over 17,000km
What's the story
Qantas's new ultra-long-range aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000ULR, has successfully landed on Australian soil for the first time. The plane arrived after a non-stop 19-hour test flight of over 17,000km from Toulouse in France. The journey was closely followed by aviation enthusiasts around the world, making it the most-watched flight globally on Friday.
Aircraft features
Airbus A350-1000ULR can fly for up to 22 hours
The Airbus A350-1000ULR is designed to operate some of the longest commercial flights in the world.
It can fly non-stop for up to 22 hours, making it ideal for Qantas's planned Sydney to London direct route. The service is expected to start in October 2027.
The aircraft has a larger fuel tank than other models, enabling it to cover ultra-long-haul routes of nearly 18,500km.
Flight specifics
Test flight took off from Toulouse at 7:33am
The test flight departed Toulouse at 7:33am local time on Thursday and landed in Melbourne at 10:46am local time, just over 19 hours later.
It was piloted by four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers.
Qantas's chief technical pilot Alex Passerini said the return journey would take 23 hours as they tested systems from fuel transfer to air conditioning.
Delivery timeline
Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft
The first A350-1000ULR, named Vega, is still on the assembly line and will be delivered to Qantas in April 2027.
The airline has ordered 12 of these aircraft with a capacity of 238 seats each.
This is less than the 300-plus seats offered by other models of the A350-1000 series.
Service changes
Project Sunrise delayed until 1st half of 2027
Qantas's Project Sunrise plans for non-stop services between Sydney and London have been delayed multiple times.
The start date has been pushed back to the first half of 2027, with Airbus delivering the first specially configured A350-1000ULR by late 2026.
Earlier, Qantas had also announced Melbourne and Brisbane as potential hubs for direct flights to London and New York City. However, these plans were not mentioned in their latest announcement in June.