24-Hour Flight: Qantas’ Airbus A350-1000ULR Sets New Benchmark

Jet remained in the air longer than 24 hours on a nonstop flight from Melbourne to Toulouse.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at 12:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

An Airbus A350-1000ULR completed a 24-hour direct, nonstop flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Toulouse, France, this week as part of a two-month test campaign. [Credit: Airbus]

Key Takeaways:

An Airbus A350-1000ULR recently completed a record-setting nonstop flight of over 24 hours (12,460 nm) from Melbourne to Toulouse, establishing new unofficial benchmarks for commercial airliner distance and endurance.
This ultra-long-range aircraft was specifically developed for Qantas's "Project Sunrise," an initiative to offer direct, nonstop flights from Sydney to major global hubs like London and New York.
Qantas plans to launch these approximately 22-hour routes in October 2027, utilizing a fleet of A350-1000ULRs, with ticket sales for the Sydney-London route anticipated to begin in February.
The A350-1000ULR is designed for enhanced comfort on ultra-long flights, featuring range-extending modifications, a limited capacity of 238 passengers (including 40% premium seats), and a dedicated "wellbeing zone."

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An Airbus A350-1000ULR this week spent more than 24 hours in the air on a nonstop flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Toulouse, France, setting unofficial records for distance and endurance by a commercial airliner.

Airbus said Tuesday morning that the ultra-long-range A350-1000 variant landed in Toulouse after a 24-hour, 24-minute eastbound journey spanning 12,460 nm, or more than 23,000 km. The widebody airliner flew the “wrong way” from Australia rather than the shorter westbound route it took last week from Toulouse to Melbourne, which covered about 9,120 nm in around 19 hours and 12 minutes.