SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2019MARATHON FLYING
Simon Calder on the nonstop London-Sydney Qantas link
Qantas is working on ‘Project Sunrise’ – a nonstop London to Sydney flight (Qantas)
Qantas is working on Project Sunrise to develop what will be the world’s longest flight at more than 10,500
miles. These are the key issues.
What’s the biggest challenge for a London-Sydney nonstop?
Not the aircraft technology – the first 747 made the journey between Heathrow and Australia’s largest city
in 1989, it just didn’t have any paying passengers onboard. The key to success: are there enough people
desperate to get between the two cities as fast as possible to bankroll what will be a very expensive service?
Why is it so expensive?
Fuel and staff, two of the biggest costs for any airline. You need a lot more of both compared with a
“normal” flight. That also makes a nonstop very environmentally unfriendly, because so much of the fuel is
burnt to carry fuel for later in the flight.
From the planet’s point of view it’s much better to stop a couple of times. It also means you can carry
freight! And it’s much better from the passenger’s point of view, in terms of jetlag and experience.