Qantas will launch its world-first non-stop services between Sydney and London from October 2027, the first time the Kangaroo Route has ever been flown without stops from Australia’s east coast. Sydney-New York confirmed as the next service, launch timing for these routes will be announced next year.
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Today’s announcement comes as the national carrier unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000ULR in Qantas livery at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, the result of years of development to conquer the final frontier of long-haul aviation as part of Project Sunrise.
Qantas has been flying between Sydney and London since 1947, when the original Kangaroo Route took four days with seven stops in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, Castel Benito and Rome, on its way to the UK.
The new non-stop flights will cut up to 4 hours off the travel time compared to current one-stop services. These historic ultra long-haul services will operate alongside Qantas’ existing Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London services. The first Project Sunrise Sydney to London services will go on sale in February 2027.
The A350-1000ULR has been specifically manufactured by Airbus for Project Sunrise, fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank that enables the aircraft to fly more than 16,000 kilometres, for up to 22 hours non-stop. Qantas will take delivery of 12 aircraft in total, each configured with 238 seats across four cabins.
A second aircraft is moving through its 8-week testing and certification program, having taken flight for the first time earlier this month.
New research shows that Australians’ appetite for non-stop, ultra long-haul flying has continued to grow, with intent to book rising from 58 to 70 per cent since February this year. Among premium travellers, that figure reaches 80 per cent, up 12 percentage points over the same period.
Since 2018, more than 1.7 million passengers have flown on Qantas’ non-stop long-haul services from Perth to London, Rome and Paris, and its Melbourne to Dallas and Auckland to New York services, with these routes recording the highest customer satisfaction scores on the airline’s international network. Daily non-stop services between Sydney and London from late 2027 will significantly expand travel options for customers across Australia travelling to the UK and Europe.
In preparation for the aircraft’s arrival next year (delivery scheduled for April 2027), Qantas pilots have commenced training on Australia’s first A350 simulator in Sydney and with British Airways in the UK. Over the coming months, some of its pilots will also fly with Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong.
Qantas’ current A330 pilots are making up the initial intake of Project Sunrise pilots, with 40 already in the process of training for the A350 alongside their existing A330 flying. In total, more than 360 Qantas pilots and 1,200 cabin crew will be trained to operate Qantas’ fleet of Project Sunrise aircraft by the time the 12th A350-1000ULR arrives.
