Airbus A350-1000ULR Begins Flight To Australia

Qantas’ first Airbus A350-1000ULR is in the middle of a historic marathon nonstop flight from Toulouse to Melbourne, Australia.

The Airbus jet, making its debut in the country where it’ll soon call home, is currently undergoing a record-breaking test flight designed to prove that marathon journeys are entirely possible.

With ultra-long missions of 20 to 22 hours expected to become a reality under Project Sunrise, the special service arriving in Melbourne on Friday will showcase what is to come.

Airbus’ Record Test Flight

The aircraft involved is the Airbus test frame MSN707, currently registered as F-WULR, with the end destination of Qantas, specifically built for their Project Sunrise ultra-long-range routes.

The A350-1000ULR, being an enhancement on the base A350-1000 model, will be seen on Australia’s East Coast primarily through cities like London and New York without a single stop. After completing its first flight on 2 June 2026, the aircraft has spent weeks on shorter test flights, including over the Bay of Biscay and Cardiff.

However, it is now undertaking the longest flight yet: a roughly 10,500-mile (17,000 km) nonstop trek from Toulouse-Blagnac to Melbourne, deliberately chosen to mirror the time and distance of the future Sydney-to-London sector.

For Qantas and Airbus, this is effectively a rehearsal over a year in advance and comes in the test campaign period to get this new model certified and ready for the world’s longest commercial routes.

The new A350 variant left Toulouse around 0730 local time, routing it southeast over the Mediterranean, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman before heading out over the Arabian Sea and down towards Australia.

By touchdown in Melbourne, it will have logged the longest individual test flight the A350-1000ULR programme has completed and one of the longest non-stop flights conducted by an Airbus aircraft in history.

What’s Being Measured On The A350-1000ULR?

Launching the record run from Toulouse to Melbourne is not just a service aimed at striking fanfare for the upcoming Project Sunrise missions. It also represents the ongoing process of getting the model certified and prepped for an April 2027 first delivery, following many delays.

By departing Toulouse, where the A350-1000ULR has been assembled, and the planemaker has its main flight test centre, engineers have been able to depart with the jet fully instrumented.

Additionally, by choosing Melbourne, Airbus, in accordance with Qantas, has been able to plan a route that mirrors what will eventually transpire aboard the jets once they are delivered. The lengthy service testing the endurance of all involved and especially the aircraft itself.

The flight is therefore heavily instrumented, with Airbus fitting the cabin and systems with special equipment to log data on fuel burn and flow rates, alongside key behaviour of the new rear centre fuel tank over not just a one-hour leg but rather a trip around the world.

Those aboard the service and at home will study the temperature margins on the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97s and the overall performance during continuous operation. Airbus is also placing emphasis on the environmental control systems to understand how the cabin air conditioning works under a simulated passenger load.

Onboard the A350-1000ULR, the jet also features key dummies that can generate heat and mass similar to a real load to validate not just the jet’s power but also the cabin systems and how they handle a lengthy flight. Engineers will then be forced to evaluate all components ahead of the type certification.

What Makes The A350-1000ULR So Special?

This first marathon test flight for the A350-1000ULR represents years of development and work to make Qantas’ dream aircraft a reality, following their pitch in the mid to late-2010s for Project Sunrise.

The ULR is a heavily modified ultra-long-range version of the base A350-1000, with the ULR component adding a large rear centre fuel tank. This tank provides roughly 20,000 litres of extra fuel capacity and thus extends the range over the base model.

With the fuel tank and other refinements, the aircraft is capable of flying 22 hours on a continuous journey, and that’s enough for Qantas to serve Sydney or Melbourne to locations such as New York and London non-stop with a strong payload.

Qantas has ordered 12 of the specialised A350-1000ULRs. It is the only customer for the jet, with delivery expected for April 2027 and an entry into service in October 2027 following crew training periods on shorter domestic and trans-Tasman services.

Each aircraft has been configured with just 238 seats across four cabins in a heavier premium mix to make the ultra-long-haul missions economically viable. First Suites, Business, Premium Economy and Economy all feature a wellness zone.

Qantas is opting to go against the Singapore Airlines A350-900ULR model of an all-premium layout and instead wants to ensure its marathon flights are still available to those only able to afford the cost of Economy. While tickets will be more expensive than a stopover on the same routing, the airline is betting on the experience and convenience of saving up to four hours being worth the extra coin.