Qantas Plans To Retain One-Stop Routes Once Project Sunrise Launches

PERTH, Australia—Qantas plans to retain key one-stop international services even after the launch of its ultra-long-haul Project Sunrise flights in 2027, emphasizing that nonstop and connecting routes will serve different roles within a unified long-haul strategy.

Speaking at Routes Asia 2025 here in Perth, Qantas Head of Commercial Strategy and Performance Scott Zeglin said one-stop services like Sydney–Singapore–London and Sydney–Auckland–New York will remain important for scale and flexibility alongside Project Sunrise, the airline’s plan to launch nonstop flights from Australia’s east coast to cities like London and New York using ultra-long-range Airbus A350-1000s.

He explained that the new nonstop services will target high-yield premium demand, while one-stop routes will continue to support broader passenger volumes and network connectivity. “We still need to provide volume [on these markets],” Zeglin said. “The A380 service through Singapore delivers volume, while the A350 Sunrise will deliver nonstop, premium differentiation.”

The Project Sunrise A350-1000s will feature a low-density, premium-heavy layout designed to serve high-yield markets. “It’s an ultra-long-haul aircraft with 238 seats—it’s the least number of seats fitted of any of the A350-1000s that have been announced—and it’s incredibly premium,” Zeglin said. “That makes it a bit of a specialist vehicle to where we're able to fly nonstop—to the really premium long-haul markets.”

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He also confirmed that Qantas’ existing Sydney–Auckland–New York routing, introduced after COVID-19, will continue as part of the overall network strategy. “Auckland has worked well as a hub,” Zeglin said. “It’s a good transfer experience for us. We’re investing in a lounge in Auckland as well. If it proves to be too much capacity for New York, we have the ability to pivot.

“The exciting part about this new fleet is that with the range capability, you're not just buying one plane for a particular route and that's it. You've got the right gauge and cabin configurations that allow you to be quite flexible and dynamic.”

Deliveries of the Project Sunrise A350-1000s are expected to begin in late 2026, with the first nonstop services to London and New York planned for the northern summer 2027 season. “We’re holding at the end of calendar year ’26,” Zeglin said. “Northern summer of ’27 is what we’re kind of targeting … That’s when we want to be able to start doing some of these really long-haul opportunities that we’ve talked about.”

Zeglin highlighted Project Sunrise as an essential step toward strengthening operational resilience across Qantas’ long-haul network. “We can hit a pretty significant payload block with Project Sunrise—full pax, full bags and freight, we can do circles around some of the airspace closures,” he said. “And so I think that's a really important thing to consider, is that it's not just about the nonstop piece from the east coast, but it's that full de-risking of the business.”