Qantas is expected to confirm plans to launch flights connecting Australia’s east coast to London and New York non-stop on Monday with a blockbuster order for new jets to operate the ultra-long-haul routes.
The airline has spent almost five years working on so-called “Project Sunrise”, plotting record-breaking flights of more than 20 hours from Sydney to London and Sydney to New York, and is set to confirm an order for up to a dozen Airbus A350-1000s at Sydney Airport on Monday morning.
An image of an Airbus A350-1000 in Qantas’ livery.
Qantas had intended to launch its Sunrise flights in early 2023 but the COVID-19 pandemic put the project on hold.
An Airbus-owned A350 was on route from the plane manufacturer’s base in Toulouse, France and was due to touch down in Perth just before 7pm local time (9pm eastern time), according to tracking site FlightRadar24.
Industry sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Monday’s announcement would also include the finalisation of Qantas’ domestic fleet replacement, which involves an order of up to 134 Airbus A320neo and A220 aircraft over the next decade.
The A220 is not currently used by any local airline. An A220 owned by airBaltic - which does not usually fly to Australia - landed at Sydney Airport on Saturday night, FlightRadar24 shows.
A spokesman for Qantas declined to comment on Sunday. On Friday, the airline sent journalists a media alert flagging a “significant announcement” at Sydney Airport on Monday.
The West Australian first reported that Monday’s announcement would involve confirming the massive order with Airbus. Reuters also reported details of the order.
Qantas confirmed in late 2019 that it had selected the A350 for its Project Sunrise flights and said in December last year it had also chosen Airbus to renew its ageing domestic fleet.
It was a double blow for the American manufacturer Boeing, whose 737s are the current backbone of Qantas’ domestic operations and had also pitched its new 777X for the record-breaking non-stop flights to London and New York.
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