Qantas Plans Auckland A350-1000ULR Flights

Qantas is planning for the future of its long-haul operations and the transition towards new-gen aircraft as well.

Executive Traveller, which has led reporting surrounding the airline’s transition, has provided further updates on the A350, which will replace the Airbus A380.

As part of plans to create greater harmony across the network and cohesion on the long-haul product, the A350’s are expected also to begin flying to Singapore and Los Angeles.

The natural replacement will occur in the 2030s and represent the second batch of A350, which will be delivered, which should not be mistaken for the A350s, which are destined for Project Sunrise missions.

Qantas confirmed another order for the A350-1000 some time ago, with the intention of these high-capacity A350 jets replacing the world’s largest passenger plane, which the airline has long championed the use of.

Under current forecasts, but with the possibility of changing depending on how economic conditions pan out, the A380 will depart from the early-2030s, which would coincide with the 20th birthday of some units as well.

As part of that endeavour, the airline will begin introducing another batch of A350-1000s, acting as a like-for-like replacement and consolidating the long-haul fleet towards usage of the A350 and 787 families.

Now, Singapore Changi and Los Angeles are touted as some of the early markets that will receive the A350-1000, unsurprisingly given the A380’s presence on these markets for some time as well.

For Qantas, the addition of the A350-1000 will also see a drop in capacity across its international network, necessitating the purchase of more aircraft to meet demand, which is expected to increase in the coming years.

By the 2030s, Qantas will have long said goodbye to the high-capacity Boeing 747 model. Still, with the A380 joining it, the replacements selected cannot match these Jumbo jets and will ultimately offer reductions in total passenger capacity.

As part of that, the flag-carrier is being forced to prepare for the future, and Project Sunrise will play a significant role in that, with calculated moves to offer ultra-long range flights, enabling the bypass.

Latest Qantas Project Sunrise News

While the A350-1000s being delivered in the 2030s represent the second batch, it’s arguably the ones arriving for Project Sunrise flights that have attracted the most attention.

The ULR model, as its name suggests, comes equipped with the capability of flying ultra-long range over the base models and is expected to be delivered in late 2026, with scheduled passenger flights to commence in 2027 after crew training.

Unfortunately, this timeframe represents yet another delay due to ongoing supply chain constraints, which have impacted the production and more.

When a new aircraft enters an airline’s operation, it conducts crew familiarisation flights, typically across shorter distances, for a period that allows employees to understand the new aircraft they’ll be working on.

Arguably, for Qantas, the crew’s need to familiarise themselves with the A350-1000ULR will never be more critical, as this plane will fly 20 hours or more across the international network to markets such as New York and London without a single stop.

Qantas confirmed to the Executive Traveller that the Airbus A350-1000ULR would debut initially on shorter international routes, such as to New Zealand.

The multi-hour international flight will enable the crew to experience a taster of what the ultra-long-haul flights will eventually look like and allow adequate preparation for when those 20-hour journeys do commence from 2027.