Australian airline Qantas has confirmed its final decision by ordering a dozen specially-configured A350-1000s to begin Project Sunrise, its plan for ultra-long-distance non-stops serving Melbourne and Sydney with flights to London and New York.
After running test passenger flights in late 2019, using a 787-9, and deciding that it was likely that there would be enough people willing to sit through a 24-hour flight, Qantas chose the A350 over a Boeing 777x proposal, largely because A350 variants were already in service, while the 777x has still not flown commercially.
The 787 that flew the test was not in the running; not big enough to carry a full load with all the needed fuel. Then the pandemic postponed any orders until this week. The selected A350s will still be big enough even after they sacrifice some seat space for extra fuel tanks. Qantas still needs route approval, and critically, a contract with its pilots that will set staffing levels for the ultra-long flights.
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