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- Qantas’ first Project Sunrise Airbus A350-1000ULR is now expected to arrive in April 2027
- Project Sunrise is designed to connect Sydney and Melbourne with London and New York non-stop
- Qantas says the route could cut travel time by up to four hours compared with one-stop flights
Qantas’ plan to fly non-stop from Sydney to London and New York has been delayed again, pushing Australia’s most ambitious long-haul promise further into 2027. The one-flight trip to London and NYC is still coming. It’s just taking the scenic route to get here.
The airline’s Project Sunrise program depends on a specially modified Airbus A350-1000ULR, built to fly roughly 22 hours non-stop. The first aircraft was expected by the end of 2026, but Airbus has reportedly pushed delivery to April 2027 due to ongoing supply chain issues.
Project Sunrise Slips Again
Project Sunrise is Qantas’ long-running plan to remove the stopover from some of Australia’s longest international routes. Instead of flying from Sydney or Melbourne to London and New York via Singapore, Dubai, Doha or another transit hub, you get on once, get off once, and save several hours in the process.
Qantas says the new A350-1000ULR will cut travel time by up to four hours compared with current one-stop journeys. Anyone who has recently done a long-haul flight from Australia to the USA or UK will understand the catch here: saving time is great, but 22 hours in one seat is still 22 hours in one seat.
However you feel about long-haul travel, there’s clearly an appetite for getting to the destination sooner, with fewer chances for the trip to go sideways.
Qantas has ordered 12 Project Sunrise aircraft from Airbus, each configured to carry 238 passengers across First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy. More than 40 per cent of the cabin will be dedicated to premium seating because that much time in economy is a gruelling proposition.
Why It Still Matters
For travellers, skipping connections, avoiding long layovers, and not having to worry about their bags going on a separate holiday is the obvious appeal.
For Qantas, Project Sunrise remains a major flagship play. The airline has already proven there is demand for direct ultra-long-haul travel with Perth to London, and this is the bigger, more ambitious version of that idea.
The delay is frustrating, but not fatal. The awkward part is that Qantas has been selling Australians the future of non-stop long-haul travel for years, and that future has been delayed again.
Qantas is expected to confirm more details on the first route and revised timing during a media and analyst visit to Airbus’ Toulouse manufacturing base in June.
For now, the world’s longest non-stop commercial flights are still on the way. Just not quite as soon as Qantas hoped.
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