22 Hours Straight Across the Pacific
Qantas has announced non-stop flights from Sydney to New York, with no stop in Auckland or anywhere else along the way. Just 22 hours straight across the Pacific. A route that would have been unthinkable for most of aviation history.
How Far Qantas Has Come Since 1958
Qantas first flew to New York back in 1958 and that trip looked nothing like today’s announcement. Passengers travelled via Fiji, Honolulu and San Francisco, with multiple stops along the way turning the journey into a lengthy affair. This new non-stop route is the second leg of Project Sunrise and is set to launch in mid-2028, cutting more than three hours off the current service that still routes through Auckland.
The Aircraft Making It Possible
These flights will run on a specially configured A350-1000ULR, fitted with an extra 20,000 litre fuel tank to cover the more than 16,000 kilometres required for a non-stop crossing. Each aircraft seats 238 passengers across four cabins, and Qantas is taking delivery of 12 of them to support the Project Sunrise routes. Tickets for the Sydney to New York service go on sale from August 2027.
London Comes First, Then a World Record
Before New York, these A350s will fly their first route: Sydney to London non-stop, beginning in October 2027. The first aircraft has already made headlines, completing a record breaking 24 hour and 24 minute non-stop test flight from Melbourne to Toulouse, currently the longest non-stop commercial flight ever recorded.
Would You Fly 22 Hours Non-Stop?
Ultra long-haul flights like this remove the hassle of a stopover, but they also mean almost a full day in the air without a break. Whether that trade-off is worth it will come down to how much you value skipping a layover versus the reality of that much time in one cabin.
Would you do 22 hours non-stop to New York? Let me know in the comments and follow 5 Star Trip for more.