Inside Qantas’ new Project Sunrise A350s

The history of Project Sunrise

2017: Project Sunrise was first announced back in 2017 by Qantas CEO Alan Joyce. The project has consistently been labelled as the “final frontier” in global aviation and the “antidote to the tyranny of distance” for Australia.

At this time, Joyce challenged both Boeing and Airbus to deliver a product that could complete these envisioned non-stop flights between Australia and anywhere in the world, with flight times of 18-20 hours or more. At this time, both the Boeing 777X and Airbus A350ULR were in the running.

At this time, Joyce believed that Project Sunrise flights would begin operations in 2022. The news was announced just months ahead of the launch of the airline’s first nonstop flight from London to Perth, which marked the very first regular passenger QF flight connecting Australia and the UK.

2018: In mid-2018, Airbus’ then-chief commercial officer Eric Schulz proposed that an ultra-long-haul variant of the A350-1000 could be in the running for Project Sunrise, as it attempted to get a leg up over Boeing’s still-in-development 777-8X. The A350- 900ULR had previously been a contender, however, Schulz said both aircraft should be closely considered by Qantas.

“The 900 and 1000 are very similar airplanes, they have just the capacity changes so whatever we have been able to do on the 900ULR clearly we can deploy on the 1000ULR as well,” he said at the time. 

“We are looking at both options. I am convinced that we have at least one if not two products that could do the mission.”

2019: In 2019, Qantas began conducting trial flights from both London and New York to Sydney on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, in order to test the health and comfort of both crew and passengers on the ultra-long-haul journey.

A limited number of passengers were invited to attend, due to weight restrictions, to allow the jet to complete the mammoth journey. Frequent flyers, researchers, Qantas staff and media were involved in the trial, alongside CEO Alan Joyce himself.

The airline said it collected thousands of data points during these flights, which were vital to determining the finer details of its final Project Sunrise plans, including how to manage crew fatigue and the wellbeing of passengers. 

In December 2019, Qantas also confirmed the Airbus A350-1000 as its preferred aircraft for Project Sunrise flights, with modifications to support an additional fuel tank to extend the jet’s range.

2020: In March 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic began to decimate travel demand, Qantas and the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) were finally able to reach an agreement over aircrew pay and rest policies on Project Sunrise.

The deal was significant, after a longstanding stalemate that saw Joyce threaten to walk away from negotiations and employ lower-paid international pilots from overseas to crew the ultra-long-haul routes. It appears that the global pandemic could have contributed to a resolution, given the growing uncertainty around the future of international flying.

At this time, Qantas also announced that it would hold off on a formal order for its Airbus A350s until after the uncertainty of pandemic had subsided.

2021: In May 2021, Qantas revealed that Sydney would be the launch city for Project Sunrise flights when they are operational. However, in light of a secret $50 million offer made by the NSW government, it remains unclear if the state was successful in securing Sydney as the exclusive Project Sunrise hub for the first five years of operations.

2022: Qantas finally lodged its formal order for 12 Airbus A350-1000 jets, with its first Sydney-London and Sydney-New York flights on the schedule from late 2025. Deliveries of all 12 are expected to be completed by 2028.

Inside Qantas’ Project Sunrise Airbus A350-1000s

In honour of the monumentous order, join use to take a peak inside what will soon be Qantas’ new ultra-long-haul flagship aircraft.

The bespoke model of Airbus A350- 1000 ordered by Qantas has been specially adapted for such long-range flights, featuring an extra fuel tank so it can travel up to 16,100 kilometres. In fact, its RollsRoyce Trent XWB-97 turbofan engines are powerful enough to fly from Australia to any major city in the world.

The jets themselves will be specially configured for Qantas’ ultra-long-haul operations, which will become the longest commercial passenger flights in regular operation. Despite having capacity to hold up to 410 passengers in a regular three-class configuration, Qantas’ A350-1000s will house just 238 passengers across its first, business, premium economy and economy classes. Just over 40 per cent of the aircraft’s seating will be dedicated to premium passengers.

At 238 passengers, it means the A350 will be able to ferry just two additional passengers compared with Qantas’ current long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner notably only offers a three-class configuration with business, premium economy and economy passengers.

WHERE DID PROJECT SUNRISE GET ITS NAME?

The name Project Sunrise is a nod to a certain aspect of Qantas’ history, and the legendary Double Sunrise service. During WWII, Qantas operated flights across the Indian Ocean, connecting Perth to what is now Sri Lanka. The flight lasted so long that passengers and crew experienced two sunrises whilst on board.

Wellbeing zone

Since the dawn of the Project Sunrise project in 2017, the wellbeing of passengers has been top of mind. As such, every seat onboard its A350 fleet will boast increased legroom, for the comfort of the passengers, who will sit there for around 20 hours at a time on jaunts from Sydney and Melbourne to London, Paris, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro. 

The aircraft will also have a designated “wellbeing zone” in the middle of the cabin where passengers can get up, stretch their legs, and move around. The wellbeing zone has self-serve snacks and drinks on offer, as well as digital screens to assist passengers with movement and stretching suggestions, to help limit discomfort after many hours in an aircraft. 

First class

Qantas’ A350 will have six spacious – and fully private – first class suites, giving highrolling long-haul international passengers a new option for luxurious travel. The six suits sit in a 1-1-1 configuration at the front of the aircraft, giving each pod direct access to the First Class Suite main aisle, however this does keep travelling companions largely separated for the duration of the flight. Each first class suite has high walls and a privacy door, a separate lie-flat bed, a spacious lounge seat, and a small wardrobe. The suite also boasts a 32-inch in-flight entertainment system, and plenty of storage for coats, shoes, and electronic devices. 

Business class

Behind the first class suite sits business class, with 52 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration, giving each seat direct access to the aisle on one side. This compares with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s 42 business class seats. As to be expected of Qantas’ long-haul business class, each seat converts to a lie-flat bed for sleeping. 

Premium economy and economy

Qantas’ A350-1000 has a generous 40 premium economy seats, compared with the Dreamliner’s 28. The A350’s premium economy seat boasts a 40-inch pitch for additional comfort, two inches larger than the 787, with a 2-4-2 configuration. 

Meanwhile, economy class has about 28 fewer seats than you would typically see on a Dreamliner, with 140 economy seats on offer. These seats boast a 33- inch pitch, also an increase of two inches on the Dreamliner’s economy seat, in a 3-3-3 configuration.