It was talked about before the pandemic and it was thought to be more or less buried since then, but Qantas’ Project Sunriseis still alive and well.
It is, let us recall, the desire of the Australian airline to operate the longest flights in the world by connecting Australia to Europe and the United States without stopovers.
Such flights raise obvious questions as to the aircraft used because of the necessary autonomy and the layout of the cabins, as one suspects that the comfort required for an 18 to 20 hour flight has nothing to do with what one can accept on a 10 hour flight.
Qantas chooses the A350-1000 for Project Sunrise
On the aircraft side we know thatthe A350-1000 and the B777-8 were in competition. The first one was chosen for obvious reasons.
First of all, its intrinsic capabilities.
Secondly, with the delay in the B777x program, it seems illusory that Boeing will deliver B777-9s to Qantas before the end of 2025. Especially since there is no indication that the 777-8 will not be abandoned in favour of the 777-9.
A cabin adapted to a 20-hour flight
The cabin offered by this A350 will also be specific with a very light configuration of 238 passengers, 40% of which in premium cabins.
The first class will benefit from a suite that is similar to that of the Singapore Airlines A380s, but a little more dense.
All cabin functions will be controlled from an iPad. For the first time the humidity level and temperature of the suite will be controllable.
The other cabins (business and economy) will of course have their own specificities, although we don’t know more about this yet. You can just expect a lot more space than on a “normal” aircraft.
Finally, a wellbeing zonewill be located in the center of the aircraft so that passengers can move, stretch and hydrate.
We can expect it to logically attract economy passengers (but not only) and we can only fear that it will be heavily used and crowded at certain times of the flight. Too much ?
Conclusion
After a pause due to COVID Qantas is re-launching its Project Sunrise, the world’s longest flight project. It is now known which devices and approximately which booths will be used. The launch is still planned for the end of 2025.
