London-Sydney nonstop flights move a step closer as Qantas reveals ‘anti-jet lag’ measures

20-hour-plus trip will come with a high financial and environmental price tag

Qantas has revealed more about its planned nonstop passenger flights between London and Sydney – set to begin in “late 2025”.

It will become the longest air link in the world, over 1,000 miles longer than the current record-holder, between Singapore and New York. The airline describes London-Sydney as “the final frontier of long-haul travel”.

The original plan was for the ultra long-haul flights to begin in early 2023. But the Covid crisis – and the accompanying closure of Australia’s borders for almost two years – set so-called “Project Sunrise” back.

The Australian airline will launch a connection from its New South Wales hub to New York before the London Heathrow-Sydney link. The two routes are being marketed under the Project Sunrise banner.

Qantas already operates nonstop between Heathrow and Perth, a significantly shorter distance.

For the longer routes, the carrier is kitting out specially fitted jets with what it claims is a “world-first wellbeing zone” to ease the stress from a flight likely to take over 20 hours.

In addition, Qantas has released details of research designed to combat the jet lag that comes with crossing so many time zones.

If the London-Sydney link proves successful, other city pairs currently unserved by nonstop flights may also be considered.

Alan Joyce, chief executive of the Australian airline group, says: “Given our geography, Qantas has a long history of using imagination and innovation to overcome the tyranny of distance between Australia and the rest of the world.”

But the ultra-long-haul journey will come with a high financial and environmental price attached.

These are the key questions and answers.

What is Qantas promising?

Nonstop flights connecting London Heathrow and Sydney, which are 10,573 miles apart.

Currently Qantas has a daily one-stop via Singapore. QF1 from Sydney to London is scheduled to take 23h15. QF2, the return journey from Australia to the UK, takes 80 minutes longer due to the effects of the jet stream – which moves from west to east.

The nonstop flight is likely to take around 20 hours southeast-bound and up to two hours longer northwest-bound.

Haven’t we been here before?

Yes. As long ago as 1989, Qantas flew nonstop from London Heathrow to Sydney using a Boeing 747 “jumbo jet”. The airline repeated the stunt in 2019. On neither occasion were there any fare-paying passengers on board.

The first nonstop commercial flight between the UK and Australia was on Qantas between London Heathrow and Perth in 2018. The 9,009 miles are flown using a Boeing 787.

What plane type will be used for London?

Qantas was considering the Boeing 777X for Sydney to London and New York, but has now placed an order for up to a dozen specially adapted Airbus A350-1000 jets. The European aircraft maker will add an additional fuel tank and slightly increase the maximum takeoff weight.

How many classes will be onboard?

The plane will be fitted with 238 seats in four classes – which Qantas says is 100 fewer than on the same aircraft operated by competitors.

• First: six suites “designed to feel like a mini boutique hotel room with two-metre flat bed, dining table for two, separate recliner chair and a 32-inch 4k ultra-high definition touch screen TV”.
• Business: 52 suites with “sliding doors for additional privacy, lay-flat bed, large dining table, bespoke lighting and 18-inch 4k ultra-high definition touch screen TV”.
• Premium economy: 40 seats with “the most generous seat pitches of any Qantas aircraft”. Compared with existing offerings, the highlight is said to be “new headrest wings” with “additional support and a sense of privacy”.
• Economy: 140 seats at a 33-inch pitch – two extra inches of legroom compared with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. The TV screen will be a large 13-inch version.

Home from home: the First Suite on the A350, according to Qantas (Qantas)

What will passengers eat?

According to Qantas, getting passengers off to sleep helps them feel better on arrival. The airline is promising “specific menu items including fish and chicken paired with fast-acting carbohydrates, as well as comfort foods like soups and milk-based desserts”.

The aim: to promote the brain’s production of the amino acid tryptophan to help passengers drift off more easily.

Will there be wifi?

Yes, and it is promised to be “fast and free”. A frequent complaint on the London-Perth nonstop is the absence of wifi.

Every seat will have “multiple fast USB-C charging ports.”

What’s the flight path?

At this stage no one knows. Russia’s war in Ukraine makes things tricky. The most direct “great circle” track from London to Sydney crosses around 2,000 miles of Russian airspace and passes close to Moscow. No plane would fly this exact route, because of weather and other factors. But flying over Russia for at least some of the journey was part of the original plan.

The hope is that the conflict will end, and airspace reopen, before the London-Sydney nonstop launch. But if the war drags on, planes will need to make a circuitous journey to avoid both Ukraine and add at least 500 miles to the journey and about an hour to the flight time – burning even more fuel.

The other key currently unserved route under the “Project Sunrise” banner, Sydney-New York, is significantly shorter at 9,940 miles. The direct track is almost all across the Pacific and through US airspace (apart from a tiny corner of Mexico), so pilots will be able to make much more optimal choices about routing.

Who will be on board?

Qantas expects to command a premium of perhaps 50 per cent on the current one-stop fares. The operation will be extremely expensive compared with refuelling along the way – both in terms of pilot and cabin crew deployment, and fuel burn. In addition the aircraft has fewer seats among which to spread the cost.

I believe the airline is targeting four key groups on the wealthier end of the traveller spectrum:

• Price-insensitive high net-worth individuals who will pay whatever it takes to minimise the time in the air. They, it is hoped, will snap up the first-class suites.
• Time-sensitive business travellers, typically flying to attend meetings in either the Australasian or European financial centres.
• Upmarket leisure passengers, who are expected to occupy most of the economy and premium economy seats. In particular, those 40 premium economy seats could prove attractive to well-heeled leisure travellers who will choose Qantas in preference to a one-stop business-class deal.
• “Hub-phobic” travellers, predominately older people who will pay a premium to avoid the hassle of a middle-of-the-night change of planes in the Gulf or an Asian hub.

Who won’t be on board?

• Budget travellers. There may possibly be some discounting to fill a few empty seats, but probably only for passengers originating in a different European city – flying in from Paris, Dublin or Amsterdam to connect with the Qantas service. For them, it will be an alternative to other one-stop options.
• Passengers heading for other Australian mainland cities. There will be no time advantage for connecting domestically compared with the current one-stop options (except possibly for Hobart in Tasmania). Two niche one-stop routes from London to smaller New Zealand cities will open up, though: Wellington and Queenstown.
• People concerned for the environment. Project Sunrise will burn far more fuel and create much more CO2 than current one-stop options. Flying such a long distance entails carrying much more fuel than with an en-route stop, and the extra weight in turn increases the fuel burn.

How do you avoid jet lag?

Researchers from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre say lighting has a significant effect. The plan is for “tailored cabin lighting schedules to facilitate adaption to the destination time zone”.

Meals are also important, both in terms of timing and ingredients. Items such as chilli and chocolate “contribute to improved traveller wellbeing”. In addition, exercise is essential.

Qantas says it will be the first airline in the world to offer a “Wellbeing Zone” located between premium economy and economy. Think of it as a very compact and under-equipped gym.

Losing weight? The Wellness area on board the Qantas Airbus A350 (Qantas)

“We are the only airline in the world that will have a bespoke designed onboard stretch and movement space,” says the Qantas Group chief executive, Alan Joyce.

It will feature “sculpted wall panels and integrated stretch handles, guided on-screen exercise programme, a hydration station and a range of refreshments”.

Rhys Jones of the frequent-flyer website Head for Points says: “Overall this seems more of a way to keep the weight of the aircraft down than a real attempt at passenger wellness, although the creation of an exercise space is a big bonus for economy passengers.”

Is London-Sydney really the final frontier of long-haul travel?

No. If Project Sunrise is judged a success, it will be extended to Melbourne – which has just taken over from Sydney as Australia’s biggest city (and is slightly closer to London).

When this happens, the remaining global outlier will be London-Auckland, a distance of 11,400 miles. All other things being equal, this would represent an extra 100 minutes of flying compared with London-Sydney, and with a smaller and less-affluent potential market. So it is unlikely to happen any time soon.

Will other airlines respond?

No. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and other carriers have shown no interest in the high cost of developing ultra-long-haul aviation.