Traffic #401 | Fleet renewals continue at major airlines

​Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing, and the ATSB is expected to release its preliminary findings in the coming weeks. Fatal aviation accidents on Australian soil have become increasingly rare in recent decades, in a testament to the industry’s strong safety standards. Perhaps, though, this means we feel those devastating instances even more deeply when they do occur. We try to report on these incidents with care, and our thoughts and support are with the victims’ families and loved ones.​

Engines reared for Project Sunrise jet

It seems with each passing quarter, we inch closer to seeing the final form of Qantas’ first Project Sunrise Airbus A350-1000ULR (ultra-long-range). Since our last edition, the plane has been fitted with its twin Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 turbofan engines ahead of its planned two-month flight-test regime. The jet is still awaiting its Australian registration code but currently bears the temporary testing rego of F-WZNK.

​The A350-1000 has been specially modified specifically for Qantas’ ultra-long-haul operations, known as Project Sunrise by the airline, which will result in the longest commercial passenger flights in regular operation. The bespoke model 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 Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 turbofan engines are powerful enough to fly from Australia to any major city in the world.

​The inaugural plane’s fuselage is littered with hashtags and marketing for the Project Sunrise project, including “our spirit flies further” and “#LongRangeLeader”. Project Sunrise is Qantas’ long-awaited initiative to link Australian east coast cities directly to the world’s biggest (and farthest) destinations, including London, Paris, and New York. The inaugural route, a mammoth 22-hour journey from Sydney to New York, is now planned to take off in 2027.​

​Y2K makeover for Virgin’s 150th B737

Virgin Australia has jumped on the ever-growing early-2000s fashion trend by painting its 150th Boeing 737 jet in its traditional Virgin Blue colours. The airline’s latest Boeing 737 MAX, registration VH-8VI, marks the 150th of Virgin’s historic fleet, and its 100th since its 2011 rebrand and consolidation into Virgin Australia.

​The Virgin we now know originally entered the Australian market as the low-cost carrier Virgin Blue in 2000, brandishing a bright red fuselage and that original noughties font. The airline was able to capitalise on the collapse of Ansett Australia just a few months later and grow into a genuine competitor to Qantas, with international offshoots that were later brought back under the same roof with the rebrand to Virgin Australia. This 2011 consolidation of the brand’s subsidiaries – Virgin Blue, V Australia and Pacific Blue – saw the introduction of a streamlined livery that much resembles the design we know and love today, while retaining the iconic Virgin tail that features across the global Virgin brand portfolio.

​It’s the first time Virgin has leaned into a retro livery, something its long-standing rival Qantas has often used to showcase its 100-year-old history. However, under the retro exterior, the metal couldn’t be more modern. VH-8VI has now rolled out of Boeing’s Seattle 737 factory and is still awaiting final delivery at the time of writing. Once it touches down, it will be one of 12 MAX jets to be delivered this year.

Despite earlier controversies, the 737 MAX continues to play a crucial role in Virgin’s post-administration expansion and is intended to form the backbone of its domestic and short-haul international operations moving forward, with chief executive Dave Emerson recently stating that the MAX jet is “one of the most important investments we are making in the company” and central to their growth.

“Virgin Australia is in the strongest position it has been in over the past 25 years, and we are using that momentum to keep investing in our future,” he said. Virgin has welcomed 16 MAX planes to its fleet to date, with four more already registered and pending delivery. Yet, for a brief moment, VH-8VI may trick planespotters into thinking it’s 2003 again – all we’re missing is the return of V Music channel and a $59 fare to Coolangatta.

Oh dunny! QF A321XLRs finally see additional toilet

​Qantas has now taken delivery of its fourth extra-long-range narrowbody Airbus A321, with a very important alteration indeed. After welcoming its first A321XLR last year, passengers found that they were often left waiting longer than they would like for a turn in the lavatory. In fact, we now understand that Qantas’ new XLRs bore a worse passenger-to-toilet ratio for economy travellers than some of the world’s most notorious ultra-low-carriers like Ryanair and Scoot. But alas, no more! The fourth delivery fixes this issue by removing three economy seats to make room for an additional toilet.

​The first three A321XLRs in the Qantas fleet each have 200 seats, comprising 20 business-class seats and 180 economy seats, and three lavatories. Of this, one toilet is dedicated to business class, meaning that the remaining passengers share just two toilets at a ratio of 90 passengers per toilet – far worse than what you could expect to see on a Ryanair Boeing 737 (with a ratio of 66 people per lavatory), or a Scoot Airbus A320 (with a ratio of 62 passengers per lavatory), largely because these airlines do not have to accommodate premium passengers with a dedicated toilet.

​Given that Qantas’ XLR fleet is intended to take its passengers further than its predecessors, the facilities issue was pretty glaring. However, the airline has acknowledged that, following feedback from customers and crew, the fourth toilet configuration is preferable for future A321XLR planes, and all deliveries from now will retain this layout. The fourth onboard toilet brings the passenger-to-lavatory ratio to a far more reasonable 59:1. The first three A321XLR jets welcomed by Qantas will be retrofitted further down the line to also accommodate an extra toilet, but will remain as is for now.

​A total of 48 A321XLR orders have now been placed under Project Winton – Qantas’s major domestic fleet renewal program, where it famously snubbed previous preferred supplier Boeing for the European planemaking giant Airbus. Since taking delivery of the first jet in June 2025, the small fleet has been in regular rotation between the Australian capital cities, as well as on medium-haul hops between Sydney and Perth, and between Brisbane and Manila.