SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) – As part of a larger deal with Airbus SE, Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX) is expected to announce a big order for Airbus SE (AIR.PA) A350-1000 planes that can fly nonstop from Sydney to London.
The multibillion-dollar deal, which will be announced Monday at a Sydney airport hangar, moves the Australian airline closer to starting record-breaking direct flights of almost 20 hours on the lucrative “Kangaroo route” by mid-2025.
“Project Sunrise” has been put on hold because of the coronavirus epidemic. Qantas has been planning to make the world’s longest commercial flights for more than five years.
Veteran Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has called continuous flights between Sydney and London the airline’s “Holy Grail.” The agreement is a big deal for him.
The trip was inaugurated by the Australian airline in 1947 using Lockheed Constellations and required many stops and 58 hours of flight. Today’s nonstop flights are almost 24 hours long.
Just a few days ago, Boeing Co. (BA.N) said it was putting off the construction of its new 777X plane, which was supposed to make direct flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York.
On Sunday, an Airbus-owned A350-1000 flew from Toulouse to Perth, according to flight monitoring website FlightRadar24.
Qantas, which has said that a substantial announcement concerning the future of its network would be made on Monday, refused to comment. Airbus did not respond to a request for comment.
It was reported on Sunday by the West Australian newspaper without naming sources that Qantas would buy 12 A350s, 20 A321XLR planes, and 20 A220 planes, as well as the right to buy another 106 planes of different types. The West Australian did not say who the sources were.
In a blow to incumbent supplier Boeing, Qantas picked Airbus as the preferred bidder for a significant contract to rebuild its ageing narrowbody fleet in December. continue reading
FlightRadar24 indicated that an airBaltic A220 was parked in Sydney on Sunday. That destination is not on a typical European carrier itinerary. At the moment, Australia does not have any A220 operators.
