A Qantas Airways airliner has set a new record for the longest nonstop commercial flight, flying from Australia to France in 24 hours and 24 minutes. The Airbus A350-1000ULR flight test aircraft covered 12,460 nautical miles, surpassing the previous record held by a Boeing 777-200LR since 2005.
Flight Details
The aircraft departed from Melbourne at 5:30 p.m. on Monday and passed directly over Los Angeles and Las Vegas on Monday afternoon after crossing the international date line. It then flew over Canada and the North Atlantic and arrived in Toulouse, France, where the A350-1000 was built, just after 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
The aircraft offers a designated “Wellbeing Zone” where travelers can stretch out, as well as cabins with memory foam beds and reclining armchairs. Airbus says the airliner has an extra rear center fuel tank that carries 5,521 gallons, extending the aircraft range by 1,000 nautical miles.
According to Qantas, the planes will offer six first-class cabins, 52 business suites, 40 premium economy suites, and 140 economy suites. Daily nonstop flights between Sydney and London are slated to begin in October 2027, with tickets going on sale in February of that year.
Original reporting: KCCI Des Moines — read the source article.
