Quantas Sydney to London Route to Become World's Longest Direct Flight at 20 Hours

The Australian airline Quantas have announced a new Sydney to London route that will become the world's longest direct commercial flight at 20 hours.The airline are expected to take delivery of a dozen Airbus A350-1000 planes, which can do more than 10,000 miles without refuelling. This will make the 20-hour-long flight possible. The new fleet of 12 planes will begin arriving in 2025, with the order to be completed by 2028.

There are also plans for a route from Sydney to New York. The new planes means that there are opportunities for direct flights from Australia to any city in the world. Quantas' services will start in late 2025 and will be able to take up to 238 passengers across four travel classes.For travellers who want to move about in the plane, there will be a "wellbeing zone" in the centre of the aircraft that includes a snack bar and screens showing tutorials of stretching and movement exercises. The new jets are said to offer more room but 40% of the seats will be in expensive premium cabins.

Quantas have said that there will be 25% less CO2 emissions per seat and less noise on their new fleet of planes. The airline claims that "Project Sunrise" will be carbon neutral.In a statement, Chief Executive Alan Joyce said: "The A350 and 'Project Sunrise' will make any city just one flight away from Australia. It's the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance."Quantas began a 17-hour non-stop flight between London and Perth in 2018, using Boeing Dreamliner jets. In 2019, the company conducted a series of test flights from the east coast to the UK and New York.The world's longest route is currently a New York JFK to Singapore route, operated by Singapore Airlines, which takes 18 hours 50 minutes and travels just over 9,500 miles.