YOU could soon fly non-stop from London to Sydney in just 19 hours.
QANTAS’ test flight from London to Sydney has landed, 19 hours and 19 minutes after take-off.
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The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner left Heathrow around 6am yesterday and landed in Sydney at 12:28pm local time today.
Carrying 40 people, many of them Qantas staffers, the flight was conducted in order to research the effects on crew and passengers of ultra long haul services which are under consideration by the airline.
Captain Helen Trenerry, who led the test flight, said before takeoff on Wednesday that research data including activity monitoring, sleep diaries, cognitive testing and monitoring of melatonin levels would help determine whether the crew mix of one captain, one first officer and two second officers was appropriate or if more people were needed.
The airline needs to get pilots to agree on contract terms and a sign-off from Australia’s aviation regulator to launch the flights by 2023.
Captain Trenerry said while she would be happy to fly the route, it would need to be limited, such as once a month as it will be “fatiguing in the long term”.
The airline is even considering removing a number of plane seats to create “move and stretch” zones, especially for their long-haul flights.
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Qantas has named the project “Project Sunrise” after the airline’s double sunrise endurance flights during World War Two, which remained airborne long enough to see two sunrises.
Those on board witnessed the two sunrises during the flight, the first to the right of the aircraft as it headed north-east after takeoff, and the second to its left as it flew over Indonesia.
Aside from research, the flight kicked off a year of celebrations for the centenary of the airline, which will officially turn 99 on Saturday.
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said the flight continued the airline’s history of helping Australia engage with the rest of the world.
He said in a statement: “Qantas is a national icon because it’s been such a big part of Australian life for so long.
“Our founders talked about overcoming the tyranny of distance and through the years we’ve moved from bi-planes, to single wing, to jets to help bring things closer.”
The airlines has already tested the non-stop flight route from New York to Sydney last month, which took 19 hours.
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How passengers tackled jet lag on the Qantas flight
On Qantas’ New York to Sydney test flight, the airline analysed how passengers could avoid jet lag following the 19 hour flight.
Some of the ways they tackled it included:
- Doing yoga and meditation
- Sleeping and eating at the time of the destination
- Eating spicy food to stay awake
- Eating soothing desserts and drinks to fall asleep
- Using cool blue lights during day hours and warmer tones during night hours
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We’ve revealed everything you need to take with you when you fly long-haul to make the journey as easy as possible.
In 2018, Singapore Airlines launched the longest flight between New York and Singapore, taking nearly 19 hours.
The shortest scheduled flight in the world, however, takes just 90 seconds.
