Qantas Airways to initiate world’s longest non-stop passenger flights
Qantas Airways Limited has revealed plans to initiate direct flights that will connect Australia’s east coast with London and New York as the airway company finally made an order for Airbus SE jets for ultra-long flights. The airline announced recently that it is purchasing 12 A350-1000s that will fly continuously from Australia to any city across the world. Furthermore, Qantas said that the commercial flights will start in late 2025 from Sydney. The airline has planned to start the twenty-hour flights under the name ‘Project Sunrise’ in 2023 and was close to ordering the aircraft when coronavirus disrupted aviation. The recommencement of the Project Sunrise portrays Qantas’s confidence in an international passenger rebound, along with greater demand for non-stop flights. The airline company said that the demand for key routes to Los Angeles, Johannesburg, and London already overreached pre-Covid levels. In addition to this, the CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce said that the airline can finally witness a sustained recovery in demand for travel. The company looks forward to Project Sunrise as the ‘final fix for the tyranny of distance. Qantas’s A350s is designed to carry 238 passengers in 4 classes- economy, premium economy, first and business. It will also have an additional fuel tank to extend its range so that the planes can fly the required distance. Apart from this, airplane’s economy seats will have extended space of additional 2 inches in legroom, though the first-class cabins will come with a door, a seat, and a single bed. The planes will also have a well-being zone in the middle where travelers can stretch or take a break. In the present quarter, Qantas’s domestic capacity is expected to be 105% of 2019 levels. Whereas International capacity is anticipated to be under 50%, increasing to around 70% in the quarter starting in July. Source credit : https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/qantas-revives-plan-for-world-s-longest-direct-flights