Qantas Project Sunrise goes ahead, 12 new A350-1000s ordered

A350:

  • Will carry 238 passengers across four classes (First, Business, Premium Economy, Economy), with more than 40 per cent of the cabin dedicated to premium seating. Compares to more than 300 seats on competitor airlines.
40% to premium implies the economy cabin will still be quite large. Those will be some long flights in whY.
 
Read our AFF credit card guides and start earning more points now.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Detailed Sunrise announcement now out


12 A350 aircraft delivered over 2025-2028.

Also some detail on the 321s (from late 2024) - config will be 20J 180Y which I suspect means no flat J and the 220s (from late 2023) at 10J 127Y
So from late 2025 before we can fly non stop from Sydney to London / New York?!...3.5 years is plenty of time for another pandemic or two...
 
Does Qantas still have 737-MAX orders?

20 Business clss seats on the A321 is interesting. 8 more than on capital routes today - must be planning for new ways to monetise upgrades, or maybe they already can see how much demand there is. I rarely see an empty BC seat SYD-MEL on a 737 these days.
 
Last edited:
It appears, according to their media material, there'll be a middle seat. If so, I wonder if they'll have "virtual windows" like Emirates does in their newest F suites.
 
Trying to work out where Qantas would use the A321s.
Likely overseas, NZ, Singapore,

Would the A350s go to LA first then go JFK
 
Trying to work out where Qantas would use the A321s.
They're replacing the 737s, so everywhere they go and a few further places. From the press release:
  • Qantas’ A321XLR is five metres longer than the outgoing 737s and will be configured to seat 200 people (20 business, 180 economy) – a 15 per cent increase with no reduction in space between seats. It can fly approximately 3,000km further than the 737 (at 8,700km) and opens up a wider range of direct domestic and short haul international routes (e.g. South East Asia, Pacific islands).
 
Why? The whole point is to by-pass the horror that is LAX and go direct to JFK.

Already plenty of flights to LAX.

I think OP meant in the interim prior to launching the new routes - in order to "bed in" the new aircraft.

And yes, I'd say that's likely. They'll need to wait until they get at least 4 aircraft or so before launching any of the new routes.
 
Looks pretty decent. Will be great to not have to use the 737s for international anymore. Still a little worried about the Y experience. Despite saying "fewer seats" it doesn't mean much if the seats they do have are cramped into a woeful 3-3-3 layout.
 
Looks pretty decent. Will be great to not have to use the 737s for international anymore. Still a little worried about the Y experience. Despite saying "fewer seats" it doesn't mean much if the seats they do have are cramped into a woeful 3-3-3 layout.

3-3-3 rules out me from ever doing WhY in a ULH!

I'm surprised they couldn't make 2-4-2 work, even with the premium charged!
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top