Qantas Airways Ltd revived a plan to start direct flights connecting Australia’s east coast with New York and London, as it finally ordered Airbus SE jets for the ultra-long services.
The airline yesterday said that it is buying 12 A350-1000s that can fly non-stop from Australia to any city in the world, adding that commercial services are to start from Sydney in late 2025.
Qantas had planned to start the 20-hour flights — internally called Project Sunrise — next year, and was close to ordering the aircraft when COVID-19 decimated the aviation industry.
Photo: AFP
The resumption of the project signals the airline’s confidence in an international passenger rebound, as well as greater demand for flights with no stopovers.
Qantas said that demand on key routes to London, Los Angeles and Johannesburg already exceeds pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re finally seeing a sustained recovery in travel demand,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.
Qantas’ A350s will be configured to carry 238 passengers in four classes — first, business, premium economy and economy. Most A350s carry more than 300 passengers. The planes are designed with an extra fuel tank to extend their range so they can fly the distances required.
In a post-pandemic world in which geopolitical tensions are also likely to increase, the ultra-long services should have a unique appeal as they bypass travel hubs, University of Sydney business professor Rico Merkert said, adding that flights will command higher fares and be more profitable for Qantas.
Qantas said the plane’s economy seats will have five more centimeters of legroom, although first-class cabins will come with a seat, a bed and a door.
More than 40 percent of the cabin is designed with premium seating, compared with about 30 percent in Qantas’ Boeing 787s and Airbus A380s. The new planes have “a wellbeing zone” in the middle where passengers can stretch or take a break.
The A350s are to be delivered to Qantas from 2025 until 2028.
A rebound in business air travel has been steeper than expected, demand from small businesses is above pre-COVID-19 levels and corporate travel is 85 percent recovered, Qantas said.
In the current quarter, Qantas’ domestic capacity is expected to be 105 percent of 2019 levels, with international capacity to be slightly less than 50 percent in the same period, rising to about 70 percent in the quarter starting July, it said.
Qantas also confirmed a domestic fleet order, announced in December, for 40 A321XLRs and A220 aircraft, as well as options for 94 more jets during at least a decade. Those aircraft are to replace the airline’s aging Boeing 737s and 717s.
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