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.
