Project Sunrise Takes Flight
First Qantas A350-1000ULR Completes Maiden Flight for Ultra-Long Project Sunrise
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
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.
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.
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).
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.
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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