Qantas has set a new date for the launch of its non-stop service between Sydney and London: October 2027.
The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London services, on a specially manufactured A350 plane built by Airbus in France, will cut four hours off the travel time, Qantas said in a media release.
At the same time, it released new photos of the first of the 12 planes it has ordered that have the expanded fuel capacity to make the flight without stopping.
Delivery of the planes has been repeatedly delayed. The project was put into hiatus in 2020 when Covid hit. In 2021, then-CEO Alan Joyce anticipated a 2024 start to commercial flights. In November last year Qantas said the first commercial services would begin in the “first half of 2027”.
The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London tickets will go on sale in February 2027, the airline now says.
Qantas says Project Sunrise will eventually connect Australia’s east coast with other international destinations, with Sydney-New York confirmed as the next service to follow Sydney-London. Launch timing for these services will be announced next year, the airline said.
