Qantas non-stop Sydney-London flight on the brink of ‘commercial viability’, a threat to Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong airport
- Australia’s national airline says Boeing and Airbus making ‘really good progress’ on ambitious set of flights, scheduled for 2022
- March towards flights lasting as long as 20 hours poses challenge to transit hub airports like Hong Kong’s
Australia’s national airline has said planes capable of flying non-stop from Sydney to London are approaching commercial viability, paving the way for flights which could threaten not only Hong Kong’s top airline but its airport.
In its most detailed comments on ultra-long-range flying, Qantas said the aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus had made “really good progress” on an ambitious set of flights dubbed “Project Sunrise”, ready for take-off in 2022.
That goal is progressing well, CEO Alan Joyce said in an interview with the Post.
Qantas is pushing the US and European companies to make planes that can fly 20 hours with 300 passengers, ranging from first class to economy. It aims to fly non-stop from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.
“Both [Boeing and Airbus] have made really good progress from where we started in the capabilities of the critical missions from Melbourne and Sydney to London and New York,” Joyce said.