Qantas Confirms Nonstop Sydney-London QF1 and QF2 Service for 2027

By Sophie Lindqvist

Qantas has ordered 12 Airbus A350-1000 ultra-long-range (ULR) aircraft to operate QF1 and QF2 nonstop between Sydney and London from October 2027, accommodating 238 passengers each. The company made the announcement on November 9, 2026, as part of Project Sunrise, its ultra-long-haul flight program.

The airline describes Sydney-London as one of the world’s most famous long-haul air routes. The significant operational change is narrower: QF1 and QF2 will make the journey without an intermediate stop, while retaining the flight numbers associated with the Australia-UK connection.

Qantas expects the nonstop flight to save passengers “up to four hours” compared with its existing one-stop service. Retaining the familiar numbers is therefore part of Project Sunrise, rather than merely a scheduling convention.

The Kangaroo Route began in 1947, when the journey between Sydney and London required approximately four days and seven stops. Over subsequent decades, Lockheed Constellation, Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 aircraft progressively reduced travel times between the two countries. The A350-1000ULR will allow Qantas to fly the route nonstop under QF1 and QF2 for the first time.

What changes for passengers?

Passengers will have two network options once Project Sunrise begins. QF1 and QF2 will fly Sydney-London nonstop, while the existing Sydney-Singapore-London services will continue under QF5 and QF6.

Singapore remains the stopover for that second itinerary. Seasonal Perth-Rome flights, currently using QF5 and QF6, will be renumbered QF105 and QF106. The renumbering distinguishes the nonstop services from conventional international connections. It also preserves a choice for passengers who do not want the entire journey aboard one ultra-long-haul flight.

Qantas says its objective is a new direct Australia-UK connection without removing the traditional Singapore stopover. The announcement provides no flight frequencies, connection times or published schedules beyond the planned October launch.

The new aircraft will be specially configured for the mission. Qantas says the A350-1000ULR can fly “more than 16,000 kilometers” without stopping, aided by an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank, and remain airborne for up to 22 hours. The source describes the aircraft as among the most specialized passenger jets in Qantas’s fleet.

Each aircraft will accommodate 238 passengers across four cabins:

• First Class: private suites.
• Business Class: accommodation developed for exceptionally long journeys.
• Premium Economy: included among the four cabins, without a disclosed layout or seat count.
• Economy: included among the four cabins, without a disclosed layout or seat count.

Qantas says cabin lighting, seating, meal service and opportunities for movement received special attention for the extended flights. The 238-passenger configuration has fewer seats than a conventional high-capacity long-haul layout, but the announcement supplies no comparator seat count or load-factor forecast.

At the November 9 announcement, the first Project Sunrise aircraft was still completing its flight-test program. Qantas expects that aircraft to be delivered in April 2027, then plans to open ticket sales in February and start the nonstop service in October.

April delivery would leave about six months before launch. The announcement provides no firm dates for the remaining 11 aircraft, no Airbus backlog data and no fleet or dispatch-reliability record for the A350-1000ULR. Those records will be needed to test whether the 12-aircraft program supports the planned network.

Airbus is the aircraft manufacturer named in the announcement. It names no lessor, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider or aviation regulator, so their roles remain unspecified. The announcement also reports no completed certification milestone. Accordingly, the range and endurance figures remain planned performance claims until Qantas-configured aircraft enter service.

Ticket sales are scheduled to begin in February 2027, but Qantas has not announced prices for any cabin, including First and Business Class. The November flight-number announcement therefore does not mean tickets are already available.

The practical cost comparison remains unavailable. The quantified passenger benefit is a journey saving of up to four hours; the quantified capacity is 238 passengers per aircraft. No fares, operating costs, frequencies or load factors are provided, so revenue effects and unit economics cannot be calculated from the announcement.

The next checkpoints are the February 2027 ticket release, the April delivery and completion of flight testing before the October service. If those dates hold, Qantas will operate the first nonstop Sydney-London service under QF1 and QF2 while retaining QF5 and QF6 for passengers who choose the Singapore stopover.