Qantas is investing in a dozen Rolls-Royce-powered Airbus A350-1000s for the launch of its first non-stop flights between London to Sydney and Melbourne.
The Australian airline has ordered 12 of the new planes – powered by Trent XWB-97 engines made in Derby – which are capable of flying half way around the world without needing to land.
The long haul Sydney-London flight will take roughly 20 hours, making it one of the world’s longest – even longer than the current Qantas direct 17-hour flight between London and Perth.
The airline’s chief executive Alan Joyce called it “the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance”.
It will also allow passengers to fly direct between New York and the Australian east coast cities of Sydney and Melbourne.
Rolls-Royce has committed to building, servicing and maintaining the engines for what Qantas is calling Project Sunrise.
Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace chief customer officer Ewen McDonald said: “We have been powering Qantas aircraft for more than 40 years and we are delighted to be making more history with Qantas on Project Sunrise.
“This project is closely aligned with our company’s passion for pioneering new innovation and achieving industry firsts.
“Our Trent XWB engine already has a pedigree in powering ultra long-haul flights and doing so with the maximum efficiency and reliability.”
Rolls-Royce says the Trent XWB-97 is the world’s “most efficient large aero engine” in service today, delivering a 15 per cent fuel consumption advantage over the first Trent engine, enabling airlines to fly further on less fuel.
It is also ready to operate on Sustainable Aviation Fuels – produced from cooking oil, plant oils, waste, waste gases and agricultural residues – as they become more available to airlines in the future.
A spokesman said: “Following its entry into service in 2015, the Trent XWB, which exclusively powers the Airbus A350, quickly became the fastest selling large engine of all time.
“It has now achieved more than eight million engine flying hours in service with more than 30 operators, demonstrating its versatility and capability by flying a range of different routes, from short-range segments to ultra-long-range flights of around 18 hours.”
