In just two days time, Qantas is set to operate its London to Sydney Project Sunrise test flight. The flight will be the second time that Qantas has attempted the huge feat.

Non-stop flights between London and Sydney are currently Qantas' biggest goal. As part of Project Sunrise, the airline is trying to turn the dream into reality. As part of the preparations to launch the flight, Qantas is hosting a series of extra-long test flights.

Two of these are flying from New York to Sydney, while one will fly London to Sydney. This London to Sydney flight will take place on Thursday, becoming the second time that Qantas will operate the flight.

Project Sunrise

Project Sunrise sees Qantas attempting to make ultra-long-haul flights from Sydney to London and New York a reality. However, they currently don't have aircraft suitable for this mission. Both Airbus and Boeing have been invited to propose ideas for a suitable aircraft.

In addition to the aircraft, however, Qantas needs to think about the passengers and crew onboard the aircraft. The Project Sunrise flights are designed specifically to test this. As the Boeing 787 is not able to fly from London to Sydney with a full load, the passenger numbers will be limited.

project sunrise route
Prior to the pandemic, Qantas was operating a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with only 40 passengers on board to study the effects of ultra-long-distance flight. Photo: Qantas

This means that only around 40 people can be onboard the flight. This will include invited media, in addition to researchers investigating the effects of ultra-long-haul flights on the human body. The flight will be operated by the airline's new Boeing 787 wearing the centenary livery.

Not the first time

This will not be the first time that Qantas has attempted to fly non-stop between London and Sydney. The airline previously operated the flight non-stop in 1989. The flight was operated by a Boeing 747-400 being delivered from the Boeing factory in Seattle. This is much the same as Thursday's flight which will fly from Seattle to London, before being delivered to Qantas in Sydney.

Qantas, Boeing 747, London to Sydney
This Boeing 747 flew non-stop from London to Sydney. Photo: Qantas

That flight lasted 20-hours and 9-minutes. However, Qantas had calculated flight time as being between 19-hours and 23-minutes and 19-hours and 54-minutes. The Boeing 747 was loaded to the brim with a special extra-dense fuel and was yet to have its cabin fitted.

However, this week's flight will be on a ready to go Boeing 787. The aircraft due to be used for the flight is VH-ZNJ. The aircraft flew from Seattle to Los Angeles on the 7th of November. As Qantas has a maintenance base in Los Angeles, the aircraft could be going through entry into service checks. It will then likely be flown to London today or tomorrow prior to the big flight on Thursday.

Would you like to fly from London to Sydney non-stop? Let us know why in the comments!