If all goes according to plan, Qantas will end up offering travelers a choice between four daily flights to London as soon as their non-stop Project Sunrise jets take off.
That’s double the current amount of Kangaroo Route services, with the airline counting on a substantial increase in demand, especially driven by the lure of those non-stop flights, and fueled by overseas residents visiting Australia as well. as by Australians heading abroad.
Topping that list, of course, will be the Sydney-London and Melbourne-London direct flights, part of the ambitious Project Sunrise from late 2025.
The 18-hour marathons on Qantas’ new Airbus A350 aircraft will feature the airline’s latest version of first class with six fully enclosed, elegant private suites featuring a separate lounge chair and bed.
Less is known about the A350’s business class, though early renderings of the A350 cabin hint that sliding privacy screens are in play for at least some of those 52 business class seats.
Qantas has long maintained that these non-stop flights will not come at the expense of the traditional stopover route between Sydney and London via Singapore.
Not all passengers want to spend 18 hours on a single flight; many prefer to take a break from their journey, stretch their legs and enjoy a break in the VIP lounge.
The stopover route is also expected to be less expensive than direct flights, where tickets will be priced above standard fares.
That stopover in Singapore will continue to have plenty of appeal, especially with a visit to the Qantas First Lounge.
Then there’s the long-haul Perth-London flight, which served as a prelude to the East Coast’s Project Sunrise service when it launched in March 2018.
In mid-2019, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said Executive Traveler that the continuing success of the Perth-London flights ensured their survival in the post-dawn era.
“What we’re seeing, which is really encouraging, is how well Perth-London is doing, particularly with our passenger traffic… over 75% originating or terminating in Perth for that flight.”
“So what it’s shown is that we can do Project Sunrise plus, we wouldn’t eliminate Perth-London.”
And this West Coast version of the Kangaroo Route, sometimes nicknamed the Quokka Route, after the state’s small but ever-smiling marsupial, will be upgraded from the Boeing 787 to an Airbus A350 in 2026.
While the A350 will have just two more seats from nose to tail, there will be a much larger number of seats in both business and premium economy cabins, along with those luxurious first class suites, to cater to a market of first class.
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