Qantas Airways is set to unveil the first destination for the world’s longest non-stop flights from eastern Australia to London or New York, tackling one of the few unbroken barriers of air travel after years of delays.

Project Sunrise

The ‘Project Sunrise’ plan to bypass Middle Eastern and Asian hubs on London flights and offer direct services on modified Airbus long-haul jets has been in the works since 2017 and is due to enter service by the end of next year.

The aim is to compress what was once a five-day trek on the ‘Kangaroo Route’ to London to 22 hours at most, depending on routes and winds. The trip now takes 24 to 25 hours via Singapore.

New York, which Qantas currently serves from Sydney via Auckland, is also among the initial destinations, but the airline has so far not said which will be introduced first.

The project is a major gamble for the Australian carrier, which has bet billions on fleet changes, cabins and research into the health effects of crossing the planet in a single flight.

To succeed it must persuade passengers to pay more to avoid layovers, while minimising the discomfort from long flights.

Qantas has estimated the project could add more than A$400 million ($282.68 million) a year to earnings.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.