Long-haul flights can be a real pain when you’re trying to get around the world. Typically, they’re achieved by including a stop along the way, with the layover forcing passengers to deplane and kill time before continuing the flight. As planes have improved over the years, airlines have begun to introduce more direct flights where possible, negating this frustration.
Australian flag carrier Qantas are at the forefront of this push, recently attempting a direct flight from New York to Sydney. This required careful planning and preparation, and the research flight is intended to be a trial run ahead of future commercial operations. How did they keep the plane — and the passengers — in the air for this extremely long haul? The short answer is that they cheated with no cargo and by pampering their 85% empty passenger cabin. Yet they plan to leverage what they learn to begin operating 10,000+ mile non-stop passenger flights — besting the current record by 10% — as soon as four years from now.
Breaking A Record
Qantas chose a Boeing 787-9 for the special ultra-long-range mission.
The aircraft chosen for the flight was a Boeing 787-9, fresh from the Seattle plant where the planes are built. The test flight would act as both research for Qantas’s future long-range operations, as well as serving to deliver the plane to its new owner. Normally, the 787-9 has a range of 8800 miles, carrying 280 passengers in a typical three-class arrangement.
With the distance from New York to Sydney coming in closer to 10,100 miles, sacrifices were made to reach the longer distance. The research flight, dubbed Project Sunrise, would carry just 40 passengers, along with 10 crew, including 4 on-duty pilots. These limits were in place in order to reduce the takeoff weight of the aircraft, thus reducing ..
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