Airbus A220, A320 and A350 aircraft Qantas has on order. Image / Supplied
Airbus A220, A320 and A350 aircraft Qantas has on order. Image / Supplied
Qantas will order 12 Airbus A350s capable of flying direct from Australia to any other city including New York and London, starting from Sydney in late 2025.
The A350-1000s will be ordered to operate non-stop "Project Sunrise" flights and the airline today detailed the aircraft order and how the planes will be fitted out.
These aircraft have a range of 16,100km. Although the airline has flown non-stop from Perth to London, the flights from Sydney will be longer.
The Sydney-New York flights will also be among the longest in the world and will be following rival Air New Zealand's Auckland-New York flights launching this September.
The Qantas A350-1000 will have the range for direct flights between Australia and any city in the world and will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 turbofan engines, which are 25 per cent more fuel efficient than previous generation aircraft.
They will carry 238 passengers across four classes (First, Business, Premium, Economy), with more than 40 per cent of the cabin dedicated to premium seating.
A Qantas Dreamliner lands at Sydney after a trial flight from New York. Photo / James D Morgan
The airline says this compares to more than 300 seats on its competitors.
The cabin is specially configured for improved comfort on long flights and includes a ''wellbeing zone'' in the centre.
In 2019 Qantas flew from New York to Sydney using a Boeing Dreamliner aircraft with a flight that took just over 19 hours.
Domestically, Qantas will start the renewal of its narrow body jets as part of "Project Winton" with firm orders for 20 Airbus A321XLRs and 20 A220-300s as its Boeing 737s and 717s are gradually retired. The first of these aircraft will start to arrive in late 2023, with the order including purchase right options for another 94 aircraft for delivery through to at least 2034.
The orders will create over 1000 jobs.
Qantas group chief executive Alan Joyce said this morning the new types of aircraft make new things possible.
"That's what makes today's announcement so significant for the national carrier and for a country like Australia where air travel is crucial."
The A350 and Project Sunrise will make any city just one flight away from Australia.
"It's the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance. As you'd expect, the cabin is being specially designed for maximum comfort in all classes for long-haul flying."
The A320s and A220s will become the backbone of its domestic fleet for the next 20 years.
"These newer aircraft and engines will reduce emissions by at least 15 per cent if running on fossil fuels, and significantly better when run on Sustainable Aviation Fuel,'' said Joyce.
This order brings Qantas closer to its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Project Sunrise will be carbon neutral from day one.
"We have come through the other side of the pandemic a structurally different company. Our domestic market share is higher and the demand for direct international flights is even stronger than it was before Covid.''
A first class suite aboard new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. Image / Suppled
The business case for Project Sunrise has an internal rate of return in the "mid-teens".
"The board's decision to approve what is the largest aircraft order in Australian aviation is a clear vote of confidence in the future of the Qantas Group."
The phasing of the order means it can be funded within its debt range and through earnings, "while still leaving room for shareholder returns in line with our financial framework", Joyce said.
Capital expenditure for Project Sunrise is primarily from the 2025 financial year to the 2027 financial year, peaking at A$1.2 billion ($1.3b).
