• 

  Qantas

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  QF/QFA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Brisbane Airport, Melbourne Airport, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport

  Year Founded:

  1920

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Alan Joyce

  Country:

  Australia

Qantas has announced that it will expand its ultra-long-haul services to various destinations across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres as a part of Project Sunrise. The new routes will offer passengers direct non-stop service to several major cities from Australia. Following the London to Sydney route, the airline will fly to four cities in the US, four in Europe, one in South Africa, and one in Brazil. The routes will target passengers willing to pay a premium price for both luxury and convenience.

The era of ultra-long-haul flying

Aircraft with the capability of flying 20+ hour flights have existed for decades. However, only recently have flights this long been an economical option for most airlines that fly long-haul routes. Two of the youngest widebody aircraft in service, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350, have made these ultra-long flights more economical. The A350 will be Qantas' bread and butter for these ultra-long routes. It will continue to use the 787 on some of these routes, but for its longest routes, it will defer back to its forthcoming Airbus A350-1000s.

The A350 that the airline will use for its longest route, London-Sydney, will be modified to go the extra distance, being equipped with an extra fuel tank. The airline chose the A350 over similar Boeing jets for a few reasons. The lightweight nature of the A350 helps it burn less fuel than the Boeing 777X. It also burns an average of 25 cents per gallon less than the four-engined Boeing 747 that the airline traditionally used for long-haul routes.

Qantas plans to target passengers willing to pay a premium ticket price for these routes. Its A350s used for these ultra-long routes will be some of the few airliners that have almost as many premium seats and suites as economy seats. These aircraft will be equipped with only 140 economy seats. They will have 40 premium economy seats, 52 business suites, and six first class suites. The plane will be geared to offer passengers a luxurious experience as they spend nearly an entire day in the sky.

Targeted destinations

Project Sunrise has recently procured several new destinations. Some time ago, Qantas announced that it would fly a non-stop route between Sydney and London. This route will take over 21 hours and stretch over 10,000 miles. This will be one of the longest airline routes in history.

Once all announced non-stop services have begun, Qantas will connect London to Sydney and Melbourne. It will also connect these two Australian cities to Paris and Frankfurt. It will connect Sydney to Dallas, New York, Miami, and Chicago. New York, Chicago, and Miami will also be connected to Melbourne. Miami and Chicago were the two most recent additions to Project Sunrise's list. The existing London to Perth route will continue operations, while a separate route will soon connect Perth to Rome.

All the previously listed routes will be serviced by non-stop direct flights. Most of the listed routes are subject to change as they have not yet begun. The airline has not yet released the exact start dates for the new routes.

What do you think of these new routes? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Executive Traveler, The Times