Qantas locks in launch date for Sydney-London nonstop flights as it debuts the custom jet designed for the trip | CNN

For nearly a century, commercial airlines have chased one of aviation’s ultimate goals: connecting Sydney to the opposite side of the planet in a single, uninterrupted flight. Now, Qantas is on the verge of making that a reality as it moves its highly anticipated Project Sunrise into its final stage, with non-stop flights from Sydney to both London and New York moving closer to takeoff. This week, the Australian carrier unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000ULR — the groundbreaking ultra-long-range aircraft that it will operate on the flights — at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, as it announced that the inaugural Sydney-to-London service will launch in October 2027. CNN aviation expert Richard Quest, who attended the event, described it as a pivotal moment for the European aerospace company — comparable to the debut launch of the A380 superjumbo with Singapore Airlines nearly two decades ago. Qantas releases first images of jet that will fly nonstop from Sydney to London and New York “The fact that Airbus has put so much into this tells you how significant this is,” Quest said. Over two days, Airbus shuttled journalists between the company’s test facilities