Qantas’ First Airbus A350-1000ULR

Qantas’ first Airbus A350-1000ULR has emerged in Toulouse as the aircraft is now on final assembly, marking an exciting period for the flag-carrier.

Final assembly marks the next step for this new state-of-the-art model, built explicitly for Qantas’ Project Sunrise initiative.

The company confirmed in a post that all key airframe components, including the forward, centre, and rear fuselage sections, have come together, along with the wings, tail section, and landing gear, which are now attached.

This means the aircraft will be transferred to a separate hangar, where engines and key flight-test instruments will be installed.

Once these installations are complete, Airbus will begin what is described as a relatively extensive flight test program, slated to commence in early 2026, ahead of a currently planned late 2026 first delivery.

As for the A350-1000ULR, this model has attracted attention because it’s an extension of the base A350-1000 model and offers an airline like Qantas the best of both worlds: high capacity across in-demand markets, but also the range to serve key locations.

What Is Qantas’ Project Sunrise?

These A350-1000ULRs, which will begin delivery at the end of next year, subject to no further delays, are all due to the airlines’ Project Sunrise initiative.

Labelled as the final frontier of travel, Project Sunrise launched in the 2010s but has yet to get underway due to delays formally. It aims to break boundaries previously established by commercial aircraft.

Most notably, these boundaries will be broken thanks to the A350-1000ULR, allowing Qantas to operate sustainable flights exceeding 20 hours between some of the biggest cities in the world without a single stop.

Qantas will offer nonstop service from Sydney to New York and Sydney to London, without stopping, creating fresh opportunities to streamline the travel process and redeploy existing widebody jets to other markets.

However, unlike another airline that may have looked to do with the cabin for its Airbus A350-1000ULRs, Qantas has opted against completely ditching Economy class and instead retained it, including a state-of-the-art wellness zone.

Qantas has gone all in with this project; it hasn’t been without its hiccups, but once it launches, it aims to enhance the network for the flag-carrier and offer greater premium options into high-density markets.

Additionally, it puts Qantas in an elite category, with no other airline offering something similar, and the hope is that this is a unique selling proposition to help stimulate long-term growth.

Recent A350-1000ULR Delays

Unfortunately, Qantas’ path to flying the A350-1000ULR has not been straightforward, with several delays over recent years.

The most recent delay came in March 2025, when the flag carrier confirmed that delivery of the first A350-1000ULR would take place in late 2026.

This followed reporting at the beginning of 2024, which also confirmed at the time a six-month delay through to the middle of 2026.

While the first delivery will come in the latter stages of 2026, according to the latest scheduling, it remains much more likely that the ejet will enter scheduled ultra-long-haul flying from 2027, as crew familiarisation must first occur.

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

The multi-hour international flight will give the crew a taste of what ultra-long-haul flights will eventually look like without needing to deploy the planes on flights of this length immediately after delivery.

Therefore, once familiarisation flights take place and more planes are delivered, the airline will expand its Project Sunrise operations to include more frequent flights to premium destinations such as London and New York.

Delays to the A350ULR come as no surprise and also follow the flag-carrier being impacted by A321XLR delays, while this plane, now delivered, had its delivery path interrupted due to certification issues.