Qantas launches direct flights from Sydney to London and New York

Sydney (AFP) – Australian airline Qantas said Monday it will launch the world’s first direct commercial flights linking Sydney, London and New York by the end of 2025, putting aircraft maker Airbus on a multi-billion dollar order. The company said in a statement that it will purchase 12 Airbus A350-1000s to secure flights within a project called Project Sunrise, to cities such as London and New York from Sydney, by the end of 2025. According to the price specified in the 2018 guide. In the last year that Airbus published prices for its planes, the A350-1000 was priced at $366.5 million. However, this price does not reflect the actual amount paid by the airlines, as the negotiations allow to reduce prices, especially for large orders. Thanks to the A350 and Project Sunrise, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said, according to the statement, that “each city is only one flight away from Australia.” Qantas conducted extended test flights in 2019, including a 17,750 km journey between London and Sydney that lasted 19 hours and 19 minutes. In the same year, a test flight between New York and Sydney, which stretched over 16,200 km, took a little more than 19 hours. Singapore Airlines currently operates the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight between Singapore and New York, lasting approximately 19 hours. To date, the longest direct flight operated by Qantas connects Darwin in northern Australia with London, extending approximately 14,000 km and taking 17 hours and 55 minutes. Initially this flight was from Perth in the west of the country, but it has been moved to Darwin due to restrictions related to COVID-19 in Australia. The company announced that it will resume the flight between Perth and London this year. “As you would expect, the aircraft is specially designed to ensure maximum comfort for long-distance flights,” said Joyce. The company announced that the new A350 aircraft will be designed to carry 238 passengers in total, and the first class offers a separate bed, a reclining seat and a locker. The company promises that the seats in the economy classes will be wider, in addition to a space designated for “moving”.