SYDNEY—Australia’s biggest airline, Qantas Airways Ltd., said it would order dozens of planes from European maker Airbus SE, including new aircraft to fly nonstop between Australia’s cities and destinations in the U.S. and the U.K. that currently require a layover.
Qantas said the new ultralong-haul, nonstop flights, dubbed Project Sunrise, would start from late 2025 and would at first connect Sydney with London and New York. The airline said the flights will try to build on the success of existing direct long-haul services, demand for which has increased following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Qantas currently flies nonstop from Australia’s east coast to cities such as Los Angeles and Dallas, but New York is too far, and its service to London flies through Darwin, a city on Australia’s northern coast. Qantas conducted research flights a few years ago to test how passengers fare on ultralong-haul routes, with one flight between New York and Sydney taking more than 19 hours.
Excerpt from WSJ
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