The union representing Qantas' international pilots says data collected on 3 test flights to assess potential non-stop services from New York and London to east-coast Australia will not be enough to fully understand the risk of pilot fatigue on such long journeys. Qantas Saturday will operate an almost 20-hour non-stop flight from New York to Sydney, which is longer than any commercial airline route in the world today. Qantas' pilot research will form part of a case to convince Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority to permit the new, ultra-long haul routes. But ahead of the first journey the Australian and International Pilots Association has warned the 3 test flights would create a "limited set of data that will not adequately replicate real-world flying conditions". <br/>
oneworld
Airbus is putting forward the A350-1000 as its lead contender for Qantas's ultra-long-haul initiative, Project Sunrise, as the carrier prepares to conduct test flights using Boeing 787-9s. Qantas had requested submissions from both airframers which would meet the challenging demands of Project Sunrise, which aims to provide non-stop services to Australian east coast cities from New York and London. While 787s are already used by Qantas on non-stop services between London Heathrow and Perth, Boeing is offering the 777-8 as its Project Sunrise candidate – although development of the long-range twinjet has been put on hold. Airbus said that it is leading its bid with the A350-1000 which has a range of 8,700nm with a typical passenger load. <br/>
The date of entry into service of Boeing's ultra-long-range 777-8 wide-body airliner will depend partly on customer demand, an executive said, with the planemaker hoping to win an order from Qantas Airways to supply the plane for Sydney-London flights. Qantas has said it could order Boeing's 777-8 or the rival Airbus A350-1000 for the longest commercial flights in history by the end of this year, with hopes of delivery from late 2022. Qantas has said the plane order remains subject to a favourable business case and reaching agreements with the pilot's union and Australia's aviation regulator for unprecedented crew duty times. Boeing and Airbus are vying for the prestigious order, which stretches the limits of their longest-range planes. <br/>