Qantas Prepares To Confirm Direct Flights From London To Australia Tomorrow

The airline has spent almost five years working on the so-called “Project Sunrise”, planning record flights of more than 20 hours from Sydney to London and Sydney to New York. 2 Qantas to confirm long-haul flights Monday Credit: Alamy It is going to confirm an order for up to twelve Airbus A350-1000 at Sydney Airport on Monday morning. Qantas had planned to start flying to Sunrise by 2023, but the Covid pandemic put the project on hold. An Airbus-owned A350 was en route from the aircraft manufacturer’s base in Toulouse, France, and was scheduled to land in Perth shortly before 7pm local time, according to monitoring site FlightRadar24. Industry sources confirmed that Monday’s announcement will also include the finalization of the replacement of Qantas’ internal fleet, which includes orders for up to 134 Airbus A320neo and A220 aircraft over the next decade. The A220 is not currently used by any local airlines. But an airBaltic A220 – which usually does not fly to Australia – landed at Sydney Airport on Saturday night, according to FlightRadar24. On Friday, Qantas sent reporters a media warning signaling a “significant announcement” at Sydney Airport on Monday. The announcement is expected to confirm the bulk order with Airbus. An airline spokesman declined to comment Sunday. Sun Travel tested the London-Sydney route that broke a record with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2019. We brought together four pilots, scientists and other passengers who did not pay for the exclusive test, flying incessantly in the air for more than 19 hours. Qantas confirmed that it had selected the A350 for its Project Sunrise flights the same year, and said in December last year that it had also selected Airbus to renew its aging domestic fleet. The Airbus order is a huge blow to the American manufacturer Boeing, whose 737 is the current backbone of the airline’s domestic operations. It also unveiled its new 777X for record-breaking direct flights to London and New York. 2 The announcement will be made in Sydney on Monday Credit: Getty – Contributor