London - Sydney non-stop *

Australia’s national carrier Qantas has today (2 May) confirmed an order for 12 Airbus A350-1000s to conquer the final frontier of long-haul travel and enable non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to cities including New York and London from late 2025.

Codenamed Project Sunrise for the airline’s long history of endurance flying, Qantas has also shared preliminary concepts for its A350 cabin of the future that will offer a new level of comfort for all passengers on these direct flights that will cut up to four hours off total travel time compared with one-stop options today.

Customers onboard new fleet of A350 aircraft will be treated to luxurious First Class suites with a separate bed, recliner lounge chair and personal wardrobe; a next-generation Business suite; a new Premium Economy seat pitched at 40 inches, a new Economy seat pitched at 33 inches; and a dedicated Wellbeing Zone designed for movement, stretching and hydration. It has a total seat count of 238, the lowest compared with any other A350-1000 currently in service.

www.qantas.com

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OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Shelia Scott, Croydon London.

Why not Heathrow to Sydney non-stop. I’ve flown London – Perth where time literally “flies by”.

John Collins, Auckland

London to Sydney non-stop is not the final frontier when it comes to scheduled airline operations. London – Auckland is 11,368 or getting on for two hours more. I look forward to it.

Malcolm Ginsberg, Edgware, London

The flight distance between Heathrow and and Sydney is 10,559.57 miles, 9175 nautical miles or 16,993.98 km. Flight time is 21hrs 30 minutes either way. The winds balance out the in the air time.