Qantas Project Sunrise A350‑1000ULR completes 19‑hour nonstop test to Melbourne

Airbus flew the first long‑endurance test of Qantas’ ultra‑long‑range A350‑1000ULR from its Toulouse factory to Melbourne, covering about 17,000 km in 19 hours and 10 minutes. The aircraft, registered F‑WULR, carried four Airbus test pilots and five Airbus engineers; no passengers were aboard. The flight was closely followed on Flightradar24, becoming the most‑tracked service worldwide with more than 10,000‑70,000 real‑time viewers.

The prototype includes a rear centre fuel tank of 20,000 litres, giving the aircraft a range that supports nonstop flights of up to 22 hours. Qantas has ordered twelve of these A350‑1000ULR jets for its Project Sunrise, with the first delivery (named Vega) scheduled for April 2027. The airline plans to launch daily non‑stop Sydney‑London services in October 2027, followed shortly by Sydney‑New York flights. While the original plan mentioned both Sydney and Melbourne as hubs, Qantas CFO Rob Marcolina later indicated that Melbourne’s role remains uncertain and may be limited to existing routes.

The aircraft’s cabin will seat 238 passengers across four classes, with a dedicated wellbeing zone to mitigate fatigue on ultra‑long‑haul trips. The successful test paves the way for the world’s longest commercial nonstop routes, potentially shaving four hours off current east‑coast‑to‑Europe travel times.