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Qantas’ first Airbus A350-1000ULR is set to embark on its longest flight test yet, with the ultra-long-range widebody due to fly nonstop from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) to Melbourne Airport (MEL) next week. The roughly 10,500-mile (16,900 km) journey is expected to take around 22 hours, making it one of the longest test flights Airbus has ever performed.
The airframe undertaking the test is MSN 707 (registration: F-WULR) — the first of 12 A350-1000ULRs that will become the centerpiece of Qantas’ Project Sunrise program — and is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on July 24. MSN 707 completed its first flight six weeks ago, logging a maiden journey of just under four hours on June 2.
Qantas And Airbus Prepare For 22-Hour A350-1000ULR Test Flight
The flight is due to take off from Airbus’ facility in Toulouse on July 23 ahead of its arrival in Melbourne the next day, which is expected at around 11:00 AM local time. The ultra-long 22-hour, 10,560-mile (16,995 km) journey will be the longest flight of the test campaign to date. This route is just a fraction shorter than Qantas’ first planned service for the A350-1000ULR — a 10,573-mile (17,016 km) flight between 
Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) and 
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) — giving Airbus and Qantas an almost like-for-like insight into the plane’s performance on its inaugural commercial route.
Airbus states the A350-1000ULR has a maximum range of around 11,160 miles (18,000 km). While the test airframe will only have a few people onboard and no passengers in the regular sense, it is carrying five tonnes of custom flight test instrumentation for its flight testing campaign, including more than 1,000 sensors connected via kilometers of cabling running through the cabin.
A350-1000ULR Test Campaign Progress
The A350-1000ULR’s certification campaign is expected to log between 75 and 80 flight hours over roughly two months. This means that next week’s ultra-long flight will account for over a quarter of the type’s total flight test hours. Since its maiden flight in early June, the jet has flown a series of shorter flights over Europe, including circuits around Cardiff.
There are suggestions that the aircraft will be required to undertake an even longer test flight to push it beyond the 23-hour mark, demonstrating that it is capable of completing the 22-hour Sydney-London route with room to spare. This is important from a safety perspective, as there are scenarios when inbound aircraft are asked to enter holding patterns due to operational disruptions.
Qantas’ second Project Sunrise route will be between Sydney and New York, which will have a similar length of around 9,950 miles (16,010 km). The A350-1000ULR will initially fly on these two routes out of Sydney, before eventually taking over duties from the Boeing 787 on the carrier’s Perth-London and Auckland-New York routes.
Project Sunrise Gets Closer To 2027 Launch
The test flight comes just weeks after Qantas confirmed London as the launch destination for Project Sunrise, confirming an October 2027 date for the first nonstop Sydney-London service. Tickets for these flights are slated to go on sale in February 2027. When it begins, Sydney-London will immediately become the world’s longest scheduled passenger flight, exceeding the current record holder (Singapore Airlines’ nonstop between Singapore and New York) by more than 1,000 miles.
Spending 22 hours on a commercial jet will be a challenge for both the crew and passengers. The carrier has configured its A350-1000ULRs with just 238 seats — the lowest seat density of any A350-1000 in the world — featuring six First suites, 52 Business suites, 40 Premium Economy and 140 Economy seats, including 42 in its new Economy Plus section.
The aircraft will also have a ‘Wellbeing Zone’ situated between the Premium Economy and Economy cabins — this will offer passengers stretch handles with an on-screen movement program, as well as a hydration station. Qantas will take a total of 12 A350-1000ULR jets, with the first delivery slated for April 2027.
