Qantas has made several key announcements regarding Project Sunrise, its quest to determine if ultra long-haul routes would be viable, including the news that it has provisionally chosen the Airbus A350-1000 to operate future flights.
The Australian airline had been looking at both the A350 and the Boeing 777X, but said Airbus offered the best option because the aircraft uses the Rolls Royce Trent XWB engine, which has been in service for more than two years and has a “strong reliability record”.
Airbus said it will add an additional fuel tank to the A350s and increase the maximum take-off weight to deliver the performance needed to operate Project Sunrise routes – currently planned for Sydney to London and New York.
Aircraft cabins will also need to be modified across first, business, premium economy and economy, with Qantas saying there is a requirement for a dedicated area for stretching and movement for economy passengers in particular. Flight time on both routes is expected to be up to 21 hours.
While no official orders have been placed, Qantas said it has asked Airbus to draw up contract terms for up to 12 aircraft ahead of the airline’s board making a final decision on whether or not to go ahead with the routes.
Qantas will operate the last of its three test flights from New York to Sydney on 17 December and once complete, the carrier will have more than 60 hours of ‘Sunrise flying’ experience and thousands of data points on crew and passenger wellbeing. The airline said it will use this data during discussions with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in an attempt to extend current operating limits required for ultra long-haul services.
According to Qantas, based on this data CASA has provisionally advised that it does not see any regulatory obstacles to establishing flights.
The carrier is also in negotiations with its pilots’ union, AIPA, aimed at “closing the last remaining gap” in the project’s business case. It has put forward suggestions for a solution while offering a 3 per cent pay rise and promotional opportunities and has also outlined options for using the same pilots across its Sunrise flights as it does on its existing A330 fleet.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce commented: “Between the research flights and what we’ve learned from two years of flying Perth to London, we have a lot of confidence in the market for direct services like New York and London to the east coast of Australia.
“The A350 is a fantastic aircraft and the deal on the table with Airbus gives us the best possible combination of commercial terms, fuel efficiency, operating cost and customer experience.”
Joyce added: “From the outset, we’ve been clear that Project Sunrise depends on a business case that works. We’ll only commit to this investment if we know it will generate the right return for our shareholders given the inherent commercial risks.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the economics and we know the last gap we have to close is some efficiency gains associated with our pilots. We’re offering promotions and an increase in pay but we’re asking for some flexibility in return, which will lower our operating costs.”
If the Qantas board approves Project Sunrise, commercial flights could begin as early as the first half of 2023.
qantas.com