Australian carrier Qantas to place largest order in history, including 12 A350s for non-stop flights to London

To operate non-stop flights between Sydney and London, the Australian airline Qantas will announce on Monday 2 May 2022 the acquisition of twelve Airbus A350-1000 ULR aircraft, but also twenty A321XLRs and twenty A220s, as well as purchase rights for 106 other aeroplanes to be delivered over 10 years.

Australian carrier Qantas Airways will announce on Monday an order for Airbus A350-1000 planes, which will allow it to operate non-stop flights from Sydney to London, as part of a broader agreement with the European aircraft manufacturer, Reuters press agency learned on Sunday 1 May 2022 from industry sources.

The multi-billion-dollar order would allow the Australian carrier to launch nearly 20-hour non-stop flights on the lucrative “Kangaroo Route” by mid-2025.

Australian regional daily The West Australian reported on Sunday that the order would include twelve A350s, twenty A321XLRs and twenty A220s, along with purchase rights for a further 106 aircraft.

Qantas said it would have an important announcement on Monday regarding the future of its network, but declined to comment. Airbus also declined to comment.

Late Sunday afternoon, Airbus A350-1000 registered F-WMIL adorned in Qantas logo, with Airbus’ chief commercial officer Christian Scherer aboard, was en route to Sydney via Perth as flight AIB151 for the announcement.

An airBaltic A220-300 also made the trip to Sydney for a demonstration.