Australia's Qantas Airways will fly non-stop from Sydney to London after ordering a dozen special A350-1000 Airbus jets, betting that fliers will pay a premium to save four hours on the popular route as travel rebounds after the Covid pandemic.
To be launched late in 2025, the flights will use A350-1000 aircraft specially configured with extra premium seating and reduced overall capacity to ferry up to 238 passengers on a 20-hour trip – the world's longest direct commercial flight.
The planes will give Qantas a marketing boost on what has been called the "kangaroo route", because all flights from Europe to Australia have had to hop, or stop somewhere for fuel. Rivals offering one-stop services will include Singapore Airlines Ltd, Emirates and Qatar Airways.
The planes will carry fewer passengers than current long-haul flights operating, and will offer more legroom. They will also have a "wellbeing zone" on the plane for passengers to stretch out.
Announcing plans for the service on Monday, Qantas said a strong recovery in the domestic market and signs of an improvement in international flying after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic had given it the confidence to make the major investment in the aircraft. The company forecasts a return to profit in the financial year starting July.
The order from the European aircraft maker, whose main office is in Toulouse, in south-west France, also includes 40 narrow body A321XLR and A220 jets to start the replacement of Qantas's ageing domestic fleet, with deliveries spread over a decade.
Spirit flies further
The airline did not disclose the value of the deal, but analysts at Barrenjoey estimated in a client note it would cost at least A$6 billion (4.07 billion euros).
"Since the start of the calendar year, we have seen huge increases in demand," Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce told reporters at Sydney Airport, in front of a parked Airbus A350-1000 test plane flown from France, emblazoned with the Qantas logo and "Our Spirit flies further".
Qantas shares closed up 3 percent at the highest level since November after it also said debt levels had fallen to pre-Covid levels faster than the market's expectations. Airbus shares slipped 1 percent in early trading.
The A350-1000 order was the culmination of a challenge called Project Sunrise set for Airbus and rival Boeing Co in 2017 to create aircraft capable of the record-breaking flights.
Airbus was selected as the preferred supplier in late 2019, but Qantas delayed ordering for two years due to financial challenges during the pandemic.
Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said the aircraft to be used on the Sydney-London flights would offer more fuel capacity than A350-1000s now in operation with other airlines.
(with Reuters)
