Qantas A350 (Project Sunrise)

Qantas will create a fleet of up to 12 Airbus A350-1000 jets under its ambitious Project Sunrise, which intends to begin non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to the likes of London and New York in the first half of 2023.

However, no firm order will be placed until Qantas clears the final hurdles of regulatory approval by the Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority and negotiations with Qantas pilots. Qantas says "a final go/no go decision" will be made in March 2020.

Airbus will add an extra fuel tank to the A350-1000 and slightly increase the jet's maximum takeoff weight to deliver the 18-20 hours of non-stop flying required for Sunrise routes.

As previously reported by Executive Traveller, the Project Sunrise fleet will carry around 300 passengers in all-new first class suites and business class seats, along with premium economy and economy.