A non-stop flight between London and has long been seen as the holy grail of air travel. It is a fair description too – not in the sense of a sacred cup, but in that, for as long as humanity has enjoyed the luxury of the jet engine, a direct service between these two great cities on opposite sides of the planet has been both hugely desired and out of reach. That magic moment is finally coming, just a little later than previously hoped.
It was announced this week that Qantas is on course for introducing non-stop Sydney/Melbourne to London flights in 2026. The launch date of 2025 was shelved because manufacturing delays mean the ultra-long-haul Airbus A350-1000 jets needed by Qantas will not be delivered until the middle of 2026. Australia’s national carrier Qantas first declared that it was aiming to break through what might be described as the final frontier of commercial air travel back in 2017.
It later named the plan, somewhat grandiosely, “Project Sunrise”. But this is not a lily that needs gilding. This is the very real promise of something that has always been beyond the scope of existing technology.
And it is not just about London-to-Sydney. Direct connections between London and Melbourne – and between both Australian cities and New York – are also on the agenda. Last year, Qantas released images of the cabins that will welcome passengers on the route’s carefully configured aircraft (more details on this below).
And while a few glossy promotional photogra.