If the idea of travelling direct from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York in a single 21-hour flight sounds like a winner to you, Qantas says that its plans to implement these flights by 2022 are advancing. Speaking at the Amazon Web Services Summit Innovation Day in Sydney, the airline’s chief executive, Alan Joyce, said that the carrier’s ambition to connect Australia’s east coast with London and New York is coming close to fruition.
The Sydney Opera House is seen illuminated as part of Vivid Sydney Light Festival 2018. Photo Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
The CEO revealed that the airline aims to be ready to announce a new plane capable of the long-haul journey by the end of 2019 and to have passengers on board the world’s longest flight in 2022. Alan Joyce says that to achieve this ambition, he challenged plane manufacturers to build an aircraft capable of the 21-hour journey in an endeavour dubbed Project Sunrise.
It is hoped that direct flights will take place between Australia and London in 2022. Image: FenlioQ/Shutterstock
He wrote to the CEOs of Airbus and Boeing to enlist their help in developing the plane with the right capabilities, and now believes there is an aircraft that will be capable of the task because technology is advancing all of the time. Other complications that need to be overcome include regulations that limit the length of a single flight for a pilot as well as passenger entertainment and health.
Qantas hopes to connect Australia with New York City with a direct flight in 2022. Image: Songquan Deng/Shutterstock
At present, the airline’s longest flight is an 8991-mile route between London and Perth. This involves passengers spending 17 hours in the air, although this has been reduced on occasion to 15 hours and 45 minutes thanks to favourable winds.
For further information on Qantas, see here.
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