Airbus's A350-1000 has been selected by Qantas to develop an ultra long-haul flight between London and Sydney.
The has plane been picked as the preferred aircraft for its non-stop research flight programme, dubbed Project Sunrise, after the airline made a “detailed evaluation” against the Boeing 777X.
Qantas wants a plane to operate regular, non-stop commercial flights from the east coast of Australia to London and New York.The 17,000km flights take around 21 hours.
It said today that it will now make a “final go/no go decision” in March 2020 on whether to operate the flights.
The A350-1000 uses the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engine, which is used exclusively on the A350 and, according to the airline, has a “strong reliability record” after being in service with airlines for more than two years. The engines are made at the Rolls Royce factory in Derby.
How will Airbus extend the range - is the aircraft an A350-1000 ULR?
● The aircraft we’ve offered Qantas is based on the A350-1000.
● As announced by Qantas, we can achieve this with a slight increase in take-off weight and the installation of an additional fuel tank. Specific details remain confidential pending our ongoing discussions with the airline.
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● The aircraft we’ve offered Qantas satisfies the requirements so that Sunrise missions can be undertaken in an economically viable way with the highest levels of comfort for passengers and crew.
Qantas said no orders have been placed so far, but it would work closely with Airbus to prepare contract terms for up to 12 aircraft ahead of a final decision by the Qantas board.
Airbus has agreed to extend the deadline to confirm delivery slots from February 2020 to March 2020.
This provides additional time to negotiate an industrial agreement without impacting the planned start date of Project Sunrise flights in the first half of calendar 2023.