Qantas Airlines Project Sunrise, a long-running plan fly non-stop from any point in Australia to London and New York, has taken a setback as the airline has told both Airbus and Boeing to go back to the drawing board for planes suitable to the task. As proposed, they would be able to fly the routes, but not with enough passengers and cargo to make the routes profitable.
Both companies were tasked by Qantas to propose new or modified planes that could make the 20+ hour flights. Airbus proposed an ultra-long-range version of its soon-to-debut A350-1000, while Boeing has focused on a 777X model. The 777X is not yet in production. Qantas has been flying tests on the 10,500-mile routes to gauge effects on passengers. It’s used 787s for those flights, but with only token passenger loads.
Both Airbus and Boeing are continuing to work on the project, but Qantas may have to delay its original 2023 goal to begin the flights.
