An order for the world's longest commercial flight is set to boost the Airbus Broughton site in North Wales. Qantas Airways is set to announce a landmark order for Airbus A350-1000 jets capable of nonstop flights from Sydney to London industry sources told Reuters.
It is part of a wider deal with the European planemaker. The multibillion-dollar order, to be unveiled in a Sydney airport hangar on Monday, brings the Australian carrier a step closer to launching record-breaking direct flights of nearly 20 hours on the lucrative "Kangaroo route" by mid-2025.
The quest to conquer the "last frontier" in global aviation was launched by Qantas more than five years ago when "Project Sunrise" challenged Airbus and Boeing to develop planes to fly from Sydney to Europe and the east coast of the US. No commercial aircraft had the range to fly more than 10,000 miles with a full passenger and cargo load.
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Airbus and US rival Boeing rose to the challenge - each putting forward potential planes to meet their requirements. After detailed evaluation of the Boeing 777X and Airbus A350, Qantas selected the A350-1000 as the preferred aircraft.
This deal is a breakthrough for veteran Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce who has described nonstop Sydney-London flights as the Holy Grail for the 101-year-old carrier. On Sunday, the West Australian newspaper said, without citing sources, that the Qantas order would include 12 A350s, 20 A321XLRs and 20 A220s as well as purchase rights for 106 more airplanes spread among the different types.
It would be a boost to the Airbus Broughton site in North Wales where wings for the A350 and A321XLRs jets would be made.
