Qantas's new ultra long-distance aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000ULR, landed in Melbourne on Friday after a 19-hour test flight from Toulouse, France. The aircraft, designed for the airline's Project Sunrise, flew almost 17,000km nonstop, becoming the most-watched flight globally on flight tracking websites on Friday, with over 67,000 people tracking its path on flightradar24.com.
The test model, which lacks Qantas's official white and red livery and instead sports a tan exterior with company branding, is the first of its model to take to the skies. It first flew on 2 June for three hours 43 minutes over France and the French Atlantic coast, and has since undergone extensive testing. The flight departed Toulouse at 7.33am local time on Thursday and landed in Melbourne at 10.46am local time on Friday.
Qantas said four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers operated the test. The aircraft and crew will stay in Melbourne over the weekend before departing for Toulouse on Monday, with two Qantas pilots joining on board. Qantas's chief technical pilot, Alex Passerini, told Channel Seven that the return flight would take 23 hours, as the crew tests systems including fuel transfer and air conditioning.
The A350-1000ULR is designed to fly up to 22 hours nonstop for Qantas's planned Sydney to London direct route, expected to start in October 2027. The aircraft's extra 20,000-litre fuel tank enables ultra long-haul routes of almost 10,000 nautical miles (18,500km). Qantas has ordered 12 aircraft with 238 seats each for Project Sunrise, which has faced multiple delays, with first delivery now set for April 2027.
Qantas had previously mentioned Melbourne and Brisbane as potential hubs for direct flights to London and New York, but its latest June announcement did not specify these cities, indicating routes will be adjusted based on customer demand. The first A350-1000ULR painted in Qantas livery, named Vega, is still on the assembly line and will be delivered in April 2027.
