Qantas Airways reports 'major milestone' with Project Sunrise test flight from Toulouse
Qantas Airways reported (24-Jul-2026) a 'major milestone' for Project Sunrise, with its first A350-1000ULR 'Vega' to land in Melbourne from Airbus' manufacturing facility in Toulouse on 24-Jul-2026. The test flight is being operated by four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers. The return service is scheduled to depart Melbourne on 27-Jul-2026, with two Qantas pilots to join the Airbus flight test crew on board. [more - original PR]
Background ✨
Qantas planned to launch daily nonstop Sydney–London in Oct-2027 with 238-seat A350-1000ULRs, alongside Perth–London and Sydney–Singapore–London, and confirmed Sydney–New York as the next nonstop route.1 2 Airbus supply chain issues delayed first A350-1000ULR delivery to Apr-2027, although Qantas expected subsequent deliveries to restore the schedule by Nov-2027.3 The first aircraft’s specialised fuel system included an additional 20,000L rear centre tank enabling up to 22-hour flights, with a two-month, ~80-hour flight-test campaign.4