Project Sunrise Takes Flight
First Qantas A350-1000ULR Completes Maiden Flight for Ultra-Long Project Sunrise
Anonymous
Airbus has completed the maiden flight of the first Qantas-bound A350-1000ULR (MSN 707) in Toulouse, beginning a certification campaign for the airline’s long-delayed Project Sunrise. The aircraft flew for 3 hours 43 minutes on June 2, reaching over 41,000 feet, and focused on general performance checks and testing of the modified fuel system architecture. The ultra-long-range variant is designed for missions up to 22 hours, using an additional rear centre fuel tank that adds about 1,000 nautical miles of range, enabling planned non-stop services such as Sydney to London and New York. Airbus will also validate updated cabin and galley systems for ultra-long-haul operations, including a revised galley cooling approach and cabin ventilation and temperature control. After the roughly two-month flight-test period, MSN 707 will be reconfigured to Qantas specifications with the airline’s four-class cabin. Qantas deliveries are now scheduled to start in 2027, with a second A350-1000ULR in advanced final assembly expected to leave the paint shop before engine installation and cabin completion ahead of delivery in April 2027, following production delays tied to supply-chain disruptions.
Key Points
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The maiden flight (F-WULR / MSN 707) used special flight-test instrumentation and, Airbus said, included cruise at about 41,000 ft over the Bay of Biscay.
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The flight crew included Experimental Test Pilots Thomas Wilhelm and Anthony Flynn, with Test Flight Engineer Laurent Rossignol; Lead Flight Test Engineers Tuan Do and Alexia Plumet were onboard, along with Ground Test Engineer Vincent Frayssinet.
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For the planned next aircraft, Airbus said the second A350-1000ULR will be rolled out of the paint shop and then receive Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines and the four-class cabin before delivery (after the MSN 707 test campaign).
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Airbus and outlets describe the mission as targeting an about 10,000-nautical-mile Sydney–London distance (nearly 10,000 nm / ~18,500 km), rather than just the +/-1,000 nm incremental range figure.
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Beyond the 12 A350-1000ULRs for Project Sunrise, Qantas has also ordered 12 regular A350-1000s to modernize its long-haul fleet.
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