Qantas chooses Airbus A350-1000 for non-stop London, New York flights

Qantas has chosen the A350-1000 as its preferred jet for Project Sunrise. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Qantas has chosen Airbus' A350-1000 as the aircraft it will use for non-stop flights from Australia's east coast to New York and London, but delayed a decision on whether to go ahead with the new routes by three months.

The airline on Friday said the Airbus jet had beaten Boeing's 777X-8 as the preferred aircraft for its so-called "Project Sunrise" flights, which will be the longest commercial airline routes in aviation history.

Qantas has not yet placed a binding order, but says it will buy up to 12 of the Airbus jets if it goes ahead with the ultra-long haul flights.

Airbus will install an extra fuel tank in the A350-1000 and increase its maximum takeoff weight to be able to operate Qantas' missions.

A350-1000s have a "list-price" of $US366 million ($530 million), however major customers like Qantas usually negotiate discounts of up to 50 per cent, giving a 12-aircraft order a price tag of around $3 billion.

Qantas had intended on making a "yes or no" decision on Project Sunrise by the end of this year. But on Friday it said it was pushing that deadline back to March 2020. However the flights could still launch in the first half of 2023, the airline said.

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority needs to approve the flights of up to 21 hours, and Qantas said on Friday the regulator had "provisionally advised" that it saw no issues with pilot fatigue management on the new routes.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said reaching a satisfactory wage deal with the airline's long-haul pilots was the last hurdle to make the Sunrise business case stack up.

“The A350 is a fantastic aircraft and the deal on the table with Airbus gives us the best possible combination of commercial terms, fuel efficiency, operating cost and customer experience," he said.

“From the outset, we’ve been clear that Project Sunrise depends on a business case that works."

Currently the only airlines to fly the A350-1000 to Australia are Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways.