Qantas A350-1000ULR completes 24‑hour nonstop test for Project Sunrise
Qantas Airways and Airbus successfully completed a 24‑hour‑24‑minute nonstop test flight of an A350‑1000ULR from Melbourne, Australia, to Toulouse, France. The aircraft covered about 23,076 km (12,460 nm) without refuelling, setting a record for the longest continuous flight by a large commercial jet.
The flight carried no passengers; the crew consisted of eight test pilots, two Qantas pilots and two Airbus engineers. More than 3.6 million people tracked the flight on Flightradar24, making it one of the most watched flights ever. The aircraft is fitted with an extra rear fuel tank holding 20,000 liters and a low‑density cabin layout of 238 seats, including a dedicated “Wellbeing Zone” for passenger movement and comfort.
The test is part of Qantas’ Project Sunrise, which aims to launch direct Sydney‑London (and later Sydney‑New York) services from 2027. Qantas has ordered twelve A350‑1000ULR jets and expects the future commercial route to take roughly 19 to 21 hours in the air.
Entities: A350-1000ULR · A350‑1000ULR · Airbus · Melbourne Airport · Melbourne, Australia · Project Sunrise · Qantas Airways · Sydney · Toulouse, France
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 4 SOURCES] The cabin will have 238 seats and include a “Wellbeing Zone” for passenger comfort on ultra‑long flights. (all)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The aircraft is part of Qantas' Project Sunrise, which aims to launch direct Sydney‑London flights in 2027. (all)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The test flight carried no passengers, only test pilots and engineers. (all)
- [● 4 SOURCES] More than 3.6 million people tracked the flight on Flightradar24, making it one of the most watched flights. (all)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Qantas expects the future Sydney‑London flight to take about 19 to 21 hours. (all)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The flight set a record for the longest continuous flight by a large commercial aircraft. (all)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The Airbus A350-1000ULR test aircraft flew nonstop from Melbourne, Australia to Toulouse, France, covering about 23,076 km in 24 hours 24 minutes. (all)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Qantas has ordered 12 A350‑1000ULR jets with an additional rear fuel tank holding 20,000 liters. (all)
- [● 6 SOURCES] The aircraft cabin will have 238 seats and a dedicated Wellbeing Zone for passenger comfort.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Qantas has ordered twelve A350‑1000ULR jets for Project Sunrise.
- [● 5 SOURCES] No passengers were on board; the flight carried only test pilots and engineers.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Over 3.6 million people tracked the flight on Flightradar24.