Qantas has planned to launch its Project Sunrise flights from the three major cities on the east coast of Australia to London, Paris, and New York in 2024.
Speaking at EuroControl’s Aviation “Straight Talk” interview, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline had just been ready to place an order for the Airbus A350-1000 before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is a unique opportunity for Qantas because Australia is so far away from everywhere,” said Joyce.
“We could apply a fleet with a significant [number] of aircraft that makes it economical, whereas if you’re a BA or a Lufthansa, probably the only place you need the aircraft for is Australia.”
Joyce noted that Qantas would revisit Project Sunrise at the end of 2021, to launch the scheduled flight in 2024.
Qantas had initially planned to launch Project Sunrise flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Chicago, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro in 2022.
Joyce also added that Perth-London was the most profitable route on Qantas’ international network and had the highest customer satisfaction.
