Following a research flight on its proposed New York-Sydney route, Qantas has announced it will operate a second test service from London to the Australian city this week.
During the first Project Sunrise test flight in October, 49 passengers and crew flew non-stop from New York to the east coast of Australia. The ultra long-haul journey cut around three hours off the typical gate-to-gate travel time of current one-stop services.
Passengers in board – mostly Qantas employees – were fitted with wearable technology took part in specific experiences at various stages of the flight to allow experts to monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, lighting, physical movement and in-flight entertainment.
On 14 November, Qantas will operate the second of the three planned research flights, this time from Heathrow to Sydney, with around 50 passengers and crew due to be onboard. The carrier will once again use a 787-9 Dreamliner for the 17,800km flight, which is expected to take around 19.5 hours.
According to Qantas, the flight will take the same amount of time as the New York-Sydney service despite being 1,500km further due to prevailing tailwinds on the route.
Passengers, including six frequent flyers, will again be fitted with technology and will follow a redesigned eating and sleeping schedule that aims to facilitate on-board wellbeing and adjustment to the new time zone. Changes to the service include serving “supper at breakfast time”, according to Qantas.
The flight is only the second time in history that a commercial airline has flown direct from London to Sydney, with the first taking place in 1989 when Qantas operated a B747-400 ferry flight between the two cities.
As recently announced as part of the airline’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the London-Sydney flight – and in fact all three research flights – will be fully offset.
Qantas plans to make a decision on whether to continue with Project Sunrise by the end of this year.
CEO Alan Joyce said: “We know that travellers want room to move on these direct services, and the exercises we encouraged on the first research flight seemed to work really well. So, we’re definitely looking to incorporate on-board stretching zones and even some simple modifications like overhead handles to encourage low-impact exercises.”
qantas.com