Qantas’ plans to connect Australia’s east coast non stop with London and New York have moved another step closer, with its specially designed Airbus A350 1000ULR completing its first long distance test flight to Australia.
The aircraft departed the Airbus facility in Toulouse at 7.33am local time on Thursday, touching down in Melbourne at 10.43am on Friday following a journey of approximately 19 hours 10 minutes and almost 17,000 kilometres.
The flight quickly attracted global attention, becoming the world’s most tracked service on Flightradar24 shortly after take off, with more than 10,000 people following its progress.
There were no passengers on board. Instead, four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers used the journey to assess the aircraft’s systems and collect performance data under ultra long haul conditions.
A key focus was the jet’s specialised fuel system, which includes an additional 20,000 litre rear centre tank not found on standard A350 1000 aircraft. The extra capacity is expected to allow the Qantas version to operate commercial flights of up to 22 hours.
The test aircraft, currently carrying the Airbus registration F WULR, travelled across Egypt, Saudi Arabia and southern India before crossing the Indian Ocean and entering Australian airspace near Broome in Western Australia.
Ten aviation enthusiasts were given a close up view of the arrival after winning a Melbourne Airport competition, with the group taken to a secure vantage point near the runway before inspecting the aircraft externally at the gate.
The aircraft does not yet contain the passenger interior planned for Qantas services and is instead fitted with flight testing equipment. It is scheduled to leave Melbourne on Monday and return to Airbus headquarters in Toulouse with two Qantas pilots joining the Airbus test crew.
Project Sunrise aircraft will carry just 238 passengers across four cabin classes, giving them the lowest seat density of any A350 currently in service. The cabin will also include a dedicated Wellbeing Zone where passengers can stretch, move around and access refreshments during the marathon flights.
Qantas has ordered 12 of the specially configured aircraft, with the first completed passenger jet, named Vega, expected to be delivered in April 2027.
The airline plans to begin non stop Sydney to London services in October 2027, followed by Sydney to New York. While Melbourne hosted this week’s test arrival, Qantas has yet to confirm when Project Sunrise services will begin from the Victorian capital.
For now, the appearance of the distinctive test aircraft in Melbourne offers Australians their first close look at the jet expected to reshape the airline’s long haul network.
