Qantas's new Airbus A350-1000ULR will fly the Sydney-London-New York route, a 22 hour nonstop flight.It has 238 seats, 20,000 of extra fuel capacity and a 'Wellbeing Zone' to stretch your legs mid-air.

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WukeYwalker@reddit

Did…. Did I just watch a plane give birth?

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2009impala@reddit

Kinda crazy how close we are to passenger aircraft being able to reach anywhere in the world without refueling

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LokiSierra612@reddit

I'm curious as to why the vertical stabilizer was installed with just the primer on, when other A350s have the tail painted before installation. It's been on my mind for many years at this point

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whatdoihia@reddit

Here are some pics of the wellbeing zone. Sure beats hanging out in front of the toilets.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us/our-company/fleet/new-fleet/project-sunrise/wellbeing-zone.html

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Caligulaonreddit@reddit

I'd prefer the A340 downstairs toilets

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A380 all the way - I fly a lot of 12 to 16 hour legs and the space in front of the stairs on the A380’s main deck is the best for having a sit and stretching out (while everyone else is asleep usually).

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glaive_anus@reddit

It looks kind of interesting maybe (?). I know on long haul / super long haul flights I've spent some time in the area around the back galley just to stand and stretch (with flight attendant permission) and they've always offered me snacks too. Having a dedicated place for this carved out to not disrupt the comings and goings along the aisles may be an interesting amenity for such a long flight.

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mobdoc@reddit

They’ve tried this for decades. It lasts months before the accountants put in extra seats.

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Suckatguardpassing@reddit

Am I hallucinating or did we have something like this 20 years ago when flying from Asia to Europe? I could swear I've been in economy class with a glass door fridge full of soft drinks and fruit and a freezer section with ice cream. Plus plenty of snacks so you never had to bother a flight attendant in the middle of the night.

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aiusernamegen@reddit

Bring back the piano bar!

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Tricksilver89@reddit

They may be limited to adding more seats for weight and thus range purposes.

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seboll13@reddit

This seems to increase the value of flying premium economy. The seats seem very comfortable, the ticket is cheaper than business + the wellbeing zone is just behind you. 100% worth it.

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aiusernamegen@reddit

I want some Premium Funions. Standard Funion Fact: they're potato

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Royal_Delivery_1337@reddit

I’ve flown business on their A380s and while the hard product is nice the food was terrible. In econ it’s the opposite, the food is generous but the seats have little legroom. Hoping the A350 finds a good balance!

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Shot-Lemon7365@reddit

I'd do this if I could afford a first class cabin with a bed.

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xlvi_et_ii@reddit

I've always wondered why no one has tried a plane full of bunks/sleeping pods on long haul routes like this.

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Jaggedmallard26@reddit

Because they won't make money. Safety means you either need a shit load of space or you need to mandate that every passenger is strapped into a single bed for the duration of the flight except for the toilet. Third class sleeper trains rely on multi level bunks and being able to sit safely on the edge of the bed (or fold it down) since it's a train and not an aircraft that can encounter turbulence. Turnaround time would also be gnarly with having to change beds which isn't a problem for overnight sleepers but is for aircraft.

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zander_2@reddit

The seatbelt thing is already how lie-flat business class generally operates. You can leave the belt off, but if the seatbelt sign comes on while you're sleeping (which it probably will), the FAs might wake you up and make you put your belt on. I just keep it on visibly above the bedding at all times so I don't get woken up. The airlines definitely know how to handle that problem and it doesn't stop them from offering lie-flats on long hauls

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Jaggedmallard26@reddit

My point is that the seatbelt thing on lie flats is compensated by the fact its a higher travel class where you have the space to either convert back to a chair or you have a separate chair anyway. The economics fall apart if you have to provide that much space and mechanical complexity to economy class.

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Dr-McLuvin@reddit

I would just have those Japanese style bed lockers.

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randamm@reddit

Yeah honestly why aren’t there flights like this? Just stack people in little coffins.

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evthrowawayverysad@reddit

I imagine the cost of engineering and maintaining the complex folding bed seats, plus the additional weight, makes it prohibitive in an economy setting.

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purgance@reddit

Turnaround time isn't really a big issue on long-haul international flights because the planes aren't flying but once a day.

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ennuwiki@reddit

Singapore airlines had such a thing for Singapore New York route on the A340-500

https://simpleflying.com/singapore-airlines-all-business-class-airbus-a340/#:~:text=The%20Airbus%20A340%2D500's%20all,options%20and%20amenity%20kits%20available.

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hogey74@reddit

Actually nothing purely economic at all I don't think. I've always wondered about this myself, especially since doing airline economics as part of an aviation degree back in the day. I'd say a retired A380, despite being less efficient per kg transported, could be converted into an all bunk deal and be wildly popular. It would ruin the carefully built up underpinings of the entire sector overnight though. But with Telsa we've seen how disruption to expensive, massively ossified sectors is actually possible.

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No_Greed_No_Pain@reddit

A flying hostel. Sounds appealing. NOT!

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xboxsosmart@reddit

Air New Zealand did this!

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xlvi_et_ii@reddit

The sky couch? I was thinking more like bunks/pods that can accommodate someone over 6ft (my feet stick out into the aisle with the sky couch).

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xboxsosmart@reddit

Nope, the Sky Nest. https://www.afar.com/magazine/air-new-zealand-is-bringing-lie-flat-beds-to-economy

They are bunk beds.

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xlvi_et_ii@reddit

Cool! Thanks for this!

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LateralThinkerer@reddit

They did, back in the day immensely expensive tickets. No more...

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ConstantFar5448@reddit

If it was profitable, they would. Business class makes a ton of money for airlines but only when they can fill the seats they have.

Singapore Airlines’ SIN-JFK route is one of the highest business demand routes in the world, full of non price-sensitive businesspeople travelling for work. The A359 that services that route still only has about half the plane full of business class seats, with the other half being premium economy.

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yaricks@reddit

Takes up too much space to be worth it to sell at a low price. There are flights that are heavily focused on business/first class, but even those are filled with economy seats to be able to increase the load factor of the aircraft so you don't fly with half-filled planes.

Most people aren't willing to pay $2-3000 to fly across the Atlantic.

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still_no_enh@reddit

Wonder how la compagnie is doing

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DavidBrooker@reddit

Probably evacuation time standards.

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Some-Air1274@reddit

I don’t care if it was in first class, you’re still stuck in a tin can for 22+ hours.

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Shot-Lemon7365@reddit

Couldn't agree more, and my nervousness at flying (I wouldn't call it 'fear' or 'terror') would still be at the same level. But at least I could be away from others, on a comfy bed (with the seat belt around my ass every second!), and could sleep if I were tired.

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Knot-So-FastDog@reddit

Yeah, my max has been Dallas to Sydney which I think was around 14-16 hours. I just kept dozing off, waking up, and still having so many hours to go. I don’t think I could handle much more in economy.

That said I’ve done 10 hours in business and it’s a whole other experience - being able to lay flat I could do hours more, easily.

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Crankbro8@reddit

Being in the air that long will statically increase the chance of a random medical episode onboard which will lead to more diversions and delays for that flight .

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I_see_breadpeople@reddit

No. You’re going to be spending the same amount of time in the air if you’re going from Sydney to New York. It’s just are you doing it in one shot or with a layover

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StrongDorothy@reddit

I think their argument is that technical stop could offload someone who needs emergency care rather than needing an unscheduled stop.

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I_see_breadpeople@reddit

No

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Key-Monk6159@reddit

I’ve flown both NY – Singapore and NY – Bangkok nonstop which were about 19 hours, which is crazy but well worth the time savings from connecting somewhere else since it’s always at least a few hours before the next flight.

Take off, watch a movie, eat dinner, another movie, sleep a few hours, eat and then STILL had 10 hours to go.

So I would definitely do this flight compared to the alternative.

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Budget-Deal-7107@reddit

ambien(if it doesnt make you strip) & lunesta are your friend for moronathon flights like this.

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Jaggedmallard26@reddit

I have a stockpile of a low dose of antidepressant I ended up accidentally stockpiling while tapering off it I've been using to knock me out for sleeping on aircraft or sleeper trains.

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mc408@reddit

Trazodone?

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Jaggedmallard26@reddit

Mirtazipine.

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Key-Monk6159@reddit

Ambien has been a staple of my travel bags for many years. 5 mg is great since it gives you a nice 4 hours of sleep.

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jucyper752@reddit

There are no direct flights between JFK/EWR and BKK

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Key-Monk6159@reddit

Maybe not anymore but Thai did the route on a A340 if I remember.

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mineral_water_69@reddit

There used to be with Thai Airways.

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sumonesmart@reddit

How about we just fly less. Stay where you are born

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Optimal_Wrangler_866@reddit

We just watched plane birth 😂

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jaanku@reddit

It would be nice to put a charger in the headrest so that you can charge your headphones while wearing them without the cord being in the way

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Awkward-Action2853@reddit

Wellbeing zone? Who are we kidding, that'll be the first thing they remove so they can add in another 20 seats.

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TogaPower@reddit

I wonder at what point passengers actually prefer a connection. Sure, direct flights are nice, but for some of these truly long haul flights, having a layover somewhere to break up the travel day can be quite helpful.

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Distantstallion@reddit

Connections always add strss to journeys. I know I'd prefer less travel time than a layover

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hulminator@reddit

At least the planes currently doing these extra long hauls are the ones that are pressurised to a lower altitude. Helps a ton for me.

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Kaskadeur@reddit

I once crafted a Vancouver to Montreal flight with two intermediate stops to get off the plane and stretch my legs every couple of hours. The morning of I got a blissful email from Air Canada telling me that my reservation has been replaced with a non-stop. Yay…

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MortimerDongle@reddit

In business class I don't think there'd be a limit.

The longest flight I've done in economy was 14 hours and I think that's about my limit

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KickFacemouth@reddit

I remember my first international flight, which was about that long. I felt like my life had been divided into two halves- that flight, and the entire rest of my life before that flight.

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Some-Air1274@reddit

No I flew business class for 10 hours and was ready to get off.

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Clemdauphin@reddit

16h economy Paris-Tokyo is managable, at least with AF. But the return being only 14h was nice, yeah.

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donkeyrocket@reddit

Did 16h economy on Cathay Pacific and was pretty tolerable. Free booze and unlimited ramen definitely made it pretty great.

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IguassuIronman@reddit

I'd definitely rather have the direct. My issues with BOS-HKG is that I fell asleep even though I was trying to stay up to power through, since that helps the jet lag for me. And the folks stopped coming around with more gin after a couple hours. I was in business class though, which probably made it a lot more tolerable.

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Clemdauphin@reddit

Totaly. And also it cheaper and the only possible change would have been somewhere in a gulf country and i find it pointless. That or Warsaw, and transfering in Paris was easier.

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blackgene25@reddit

Think same. Dxb-IAH. There was a dvt scare as well once on an extremely crowded flight where because of every single seat being full, I opted to drink myself to sleep to help combat the crowded claustrophobia. If the load is around 85%, the a380 flight is a pleasure in EK economy.

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Invictus-Faeces@reddit

Nah

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fangdangfang@reddit

As a mainly economy traveler, for me we are already well past that point, going to Europe it’s always nice to stop in Qatar, Dubai, HK or Singapore on the way there or back for a night.

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Suckatguardpassing@reddit

I used to look for the shortes connection when going to Europe but as I'm getting older I prefer a night in Singapore. The taxi from the airport is cheap and fast . We pack an overnight carry-on bag and are ckecking in at the hotel 1h after touchdown.

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throckman@reddit

My experience flying ATL-JNB and back many times was that I lost my mind around hour 12, and after that, it all became a blur anyway.

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Some-Air1274@reddit

It must be awful staring out over ocean for that long.

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whiskeytown79@reddit

Yeah I've flown LAX - MEL and YVR - BNE, both about 15 hours in duration each way... Whenever I'm about 8 hours into one of these flights, I start thinking "ok I am pretty ready to be off this plane" and then I check the time and realize I still have 7 more hours to go.

And the flights leave west coast North America at about midnight, and land in Australia at about 6 or 7 in the morning, so you're pretty much in darkness for the entire flight until the very end when the sun finally catches up and begins to rise behind you.

I envy people who can sleep in an aircraft seat. I've never been able to. Sometimes I can doze for 15 minutes or so, but that's it.

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CrappyTan69@reddit

Fellow traveller. Done that route often. It's murder. I cannot imagine another 8 hours in cattle class...

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improbablydrunknlw@reddit

I was just on the quantas site, ngl economy doesn't look terrible. I doubt I'd wanna do 22 hours in it, but if I had to I wouldn't be that upset.

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Lucky_End_9420@reddit

Honestly if I was flying from NY to Aus which I eventually might I would almost certainly try to do it via AirNZ if it wasn't explicitly for their economy skycouch. that was a game changer experience for me at least. Lay down, knock out, wake up, louge around, do something, eat, back to sleep again. Even if I had money or upgrades to higher class I'd see no reason if that is available

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CrappyTan69@reddit

when I was younger, I did JNB -> AMS -> SFO quite often. I took "special" sleeping tablets (family in medical field so we got all the goodies).

"Flight XYZ now boarding" (Pop's tab, falls asleep during taxi)
Wakes up with a jolt at AMS. Knock around the city for a few hours
Same process to SFO.

Quite honestly, was the best way to fly.

Now I'm old and DVT is a risk and seats are uncomfortable and I get cranky :)

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Lucky_End_9420@reddit

Honestly I feel blessed in my sleeping habits in this regard. I cannot sleep unless my circadian rhthym decides it is time, but when I do, I knock out no sleep aides needed. My light sleeper husband a significantly less good time lol. But yeah part of the reason I love the economy skycouch arrangement and wish more airlines had it, is being prone significantly reduces dvt risk while sleeping I believe, combined with taking a little walk around upon waking, being able to rearrange position while awake in different arrangements feet not in one position on the floor etc great for very long flights

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Adjutant_Reflex_@reddit

Yeah, that’s around when I start to get stir crazy as well. And that layover shower always slaps.

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Weird_Engineer_2884@reddit

I took that return flight once. It was hell.

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Some-Air1274@reddit

Yeah 100%, I would absolutely take a connection even if this was an option. I am not sitting on a plane for longer than 12 hours if I don’t have to.

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bitpushr@reddit

I've done LHR/PER direct once and DFW/SYD many times. I can't imagine tacking 5 or 6 hours onto either of those flights - yikes...

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Approaching_Dick@reddit

Don’t know, if the lavatories are comfy and there is an area where to stand around, I’d rather stand around there an progress towards my destination than stand around at some airport in the middle of the night waiting for the next flight

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chenkie@reddit

A single “wellness zone” for 200+ pax just doesn’t sound that nice at all

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GeraintLlanfrechfa@reddit

You probably imagine it wrong, business class and premium seats have a wellbeing zone, the mob can have thrombosis socks and walk the aisle from time to time

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Probodyne@reddit

Interestingly the wellbeing zone is in-between premium economy and economy, presumably because business and first passengers can get up within their seats.

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Extreme_Dealer8023@reddit

Qantas says the wellness zone will be available to passengers of any seat class.

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stormdraggy@reddit

You will stand up and stretch like this yoga pants woman or there will be consequences!

"But I'm in a wheelchair!"

Did I stutter?!

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aiusernamegen@reddit

What is this, Russia? /s

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GeraintLlanfrechfa@reddit

What an airline says and what it does are different things.

If I was a revenue driven company, I’d have my senators and hons served well while luring people with theoretical opportunities and occasionally reimburse or appease economy pax, counting on that not everyone would speak up to be made room for, if the wellbeing zone seats were blocked.

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ballimi@reddit

The seat plans are already finished.

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swift1883@reddit

“Please wait here to be stood up”

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Fluffy-Queequeg@reddit

Yeah, as a DVT survivor (unprovoked), I now have two stents in my leg, and I will not travel internationally unless it’s business class. I just can’t take the risk, even though I am off the thinners now, my vascular surgeon has advised that whenever I travel long distance I should be taking Cartia as a precaution.

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donkeyrocket@reddit

It's better than no "wellness zone" at all and having folks stretching in the galleys while FAs are trying to do their jobs.

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MichiganRedWing@reddit

Come on lol, it's not like even half of them will be in the zone at once.

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chenkie@reddit

So what you’re saying is 50-100 people being there would be comfortable?

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MichiganRedWing@reddit

You know what I mean, no need to be smart about it.

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chenkie@reddit

I mean even if 1/5 of the capacity is using it it’ll still be overcrowded. So not really

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Adiri05@reddit

1/5 using the well being zone at the same time on average would mean an average passenger would be standing in the wellbeing zone for almost four and a half hours of the 22 hour flight. That sounds implausible to me. I’d wager an hour would be closer, reducing the number to 1/22 of the planes capacity.

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Approaching_Dick@reddit

Enough to stretch and prevent deep vein thrombosis

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ILikeFlyingMachines@reddit

Same. Most long haul flights are pretty nice and have some space to stand.

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ThisSir5918@reddit

I remember the 777's when they first came out. They would let you go and hang out in the galley, I met a lot of other frequent fliers there on the London to LAX route.

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SyrusDrake@reddit

I love flying and I dislike Dubai, but yea, sod this. I did Dubai-Auckland (with a stopover in Melbourne) once and that was already bad enough.

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Lucky_End_9420@reddit

I think it depends on personal preference... I did 17ish hour NY-Aukland flight a couple years ago and came out the experience an enthusiastic fan of long direct flights. AirNZ has a economy class skycouch option which I thought was a lovely compromise of being cheaper than premium economy, no perks but having a full economy row to stretch out bed style (which I shared with husband as we both short and slim enough) and for me it was perfect. I can fall asleep easily and I am a deep sleeper so I arrived at my destination fully rested at 8am ready for a new day of exploring, no jet lag issues, no hassle during the travel, was just lovely.

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KeynoteBS@reddit

Would depend on the type of passenger. Some people have no issues with ultra long flight durations in economy class. Some people hate flying even fully lie flat for more than 6 hours. Me personally, I would use this as an opportunity to stay the night in a hotel and travel comfortably.

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hack404@reddit

I've done Perth to London. Unless I'm on a deadline, I'm taking a stop next time.

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AdamN@reddit

I always felt that way for JFK LHR. If they had a turboprop plane that took 10 hours but with the savings everybody had more space and nicer food would people go for that? I would. Numbers might not work though.

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Distinct_Ordinary_71@reddit

Air New Zealand used to have free layovers so I always liked the Aukland-London flight being broken up with a 5 day rest in Fiji or Hawaii!

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Weird1Intrepid@reddit

I'd prefer a longer, less direct flight purely so I can have a smoke during the layover

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Big_al_big_bed@reddit

I'm not sure, but we are about to find out!

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ES_Legman@reddit

Rushing for a connection in Dubai isn't fun either

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unscholarly_source@reddit

Much prefer layover. Gotta take a deuce in the 22h, and I'm not doing it on any plane. Also better food (maybe that's the problem)

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obefiend@reddit

I regularly fly from KUL to OGG. The 20 hours triple jumper is really nice. Have some food in NRT. Chill for 4 hours. Board flight to HNL. Get some starbucks before continuing to OGG. Used to do alot of 13 hours flights to LHR in my younger days. These extra long flights will definitely kill me

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neilious85@reddit

Connections have their own issues and for some it’s preferable to just get on with the journey in one hit

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bestname_ever55@reddit

How does a flight with 2 destinations be nonstop?

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Spiritual_Feed_4371@reddit

My new PR is going to be insane on this flight....

22 hours, an economy seat, no recline, no entertainment, just the flight map.

Challenge accepted.

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jtsrgmc@reddit

Just curious, how is it a nonstop flight? Seems like stopping in say London, between Sydney and NY would make it a one stop flight.

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OkAstronaut76@reddit

I like that we get to see one plane give birth to the baby plane at the start of the video.

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Ddogfish@reddit

Planes reproduce by giving birth? Cool.

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BabesPapes@reddit

How would the route look like on the map? Sydney-NY flying over the pacific I assume, but Sydney-London…?

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trueschoolalumni@reddit

Qantas has been operating Dreamliners from Perth to London non-stop for a few years now. I imagine the SYD-LHR route will be similar, probably a thousand kilometres or so further north.

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Affalt@reddit

That tractor could stretch anyone's legs.

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Zilentification@reddit

I fly Sydney-Dallas and back once or twice a year for family. It's about 16h to and 18h back. I'm curious if this trip will feel a little or alot worse in comparison.

My usual plan is 6 hours of sleep, 3 hours of reading, 3 hours of tv/movies and 1 hour eating and hygiene.

Then i just suffer through whatever is left. But with this flight I'd still have ~9 hours remaining, way too long to tough out. Guess I'd better hope there's a TV show im interested in to binge.

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hchn27@reddit

Im surprised they are offering regular economy on this flight? I thought it would be like Singapore’s A350 on NYC-SIN that’s premium/business only …that seems rough for 20+ hours

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Zilentification@reddit

I think Australians are more tolerant of long flights than most.

As someone who will make use of the flight, I'd much rather save the money. I'm going to be reading or sleeping 90% of the flight anyway. Though family trips would need to be premium or I'd be murdered.

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BennyMound@reddit

Inhumane having economy class on that aircraft. Should follow SQ’s lead

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ILikeFlyingMachines@reddit

Economy on Long Haul is far nicer than Economy on narrowbodys, so it's fine

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BennyMound@reddit

Have you flown 18+ hours in Economy? Whether it’s “fine” is subjective but there’s a reason SQ A350-900 ULR doesn’t have economy

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ywgflyer@reddit

I'm guessing "economy" on this particular aircraft will probably be a bit closer to what's considered "premium economy" on others. It certainly won't be the same seating arrangement you'd find in a domestic A330, that's for sure.

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BennyMound@reddit

True, but it looks more like Economy +, certainly not PE

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thrownjunk@reddit

I thought it was a 3 class config. Business, PE and regular economy.

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BennyMound@reddit

It is. What I’m saying is, they should ditch Economy altogether and the Economy seat they have is Economy + at best, not close to PE

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Holiday_Parsnip_9841@reddit

It's Qantas' normal widebody economy seats with a few inches more legroom.

I guess the idea is the wellbeing zone will make the experience tolerable for very price sensitive travelers, but they really should consider making free compression socks part of the amenity kit.

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JimmyNewcleus@reddit

This may be a dumb question, but how is it nonstop if there is a third location? Doesn't this imply they stop in London along the way?

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Skoodledoo@reddit

Title is worded incorrectly. They'll be doing Sydney-London and Sydney-New York direct.

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findmepoints@reddit

Got excited there was going to be a fifth freedom flight

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BoysLinuses@reddit

Here comes some aviation pendantry. "Direct" in airline terminology is a flight with one or more stops using the same flight number. Possibly, but not necessarily on the same aircraft. The general public often confuses the terms "direct" and "nonstop."

So is this a direct flight SYD-NYC with a stop in LON? Or is it two separate nonstop flights, SYD-LON and SYD-NYC?

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toniabalone@reddit

For some reason this terminology bugs the shit out of me. Why and when did the term "direct" become synonymous with "nonstop"? smh

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kabekew@reddit

Because when ATC clears you direct to a fix, there are no intermediate "stops" in between.

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hoponpot@reddit

It's a real pet peeve of mine as well.

I think it's because of the decline in fuel stops and rise in hub-and-spoke model networks.

I haven't taken a direct flight with stops in the lower 48 since I was a kid. I can believe that there are a lot of folks out there who don't even such flights exist. So they don't need to know the difference, especially because the common definition of "direct" does describe the experience of a non-stop flight.

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TheBeatGoesAnanas@reddit

Southwest operates tons of direct flights that have stops.

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WorknForTheWeekend@reddit

Take it up with the airlines who tried to pass off “generally in the same(ish) direction” as “direct”.l in the first place

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miffet80@reddit

I mean, probably because that's how the term "direct" is used everywhere outside of aviation? You go directly from point A to point B.

When you play monopoly and get a card that says "Go to jail. Go directly to jail." do you make several stops along the way?

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JetlinerDiner@reddit

People are down voting you but it's a perfectly valid question. I think it comes from the time where you had to make several stops for long distance destinations, but because you could buy a single ticket and stay on the plane on those stops (they were purely for refueling) instead of arriving in Wherever and having to find another flight that would take you closer to the destination, the "direct" made sense.

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toniabalone@reddit

I understand what you're saying, still rather mind boggling. I believe the airlines still call it nonstop, so I'm guessing it's generational.

Kinda crazy what people downvote!

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leviramsey@reddit

The plan is to fly SYD-NYC (probably JFK, but EWR might plausibly be better, especially since I suspect Qantas will want to suppress connecting traffic on these flights and the finance crowd that will likely drive demand for this may actually prefer EWR) nonstop and also fly SYD-LHR nonstop.

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maverick4002@reddit

If youre flying 22 hours, landing at EWR or JFK isnt making a discernible difference. Qantas also doesnt fly to EWR now so why would they for this flight? Qantas partner, AA, is also over at JFK so again, why would they go to EWR.

Again, what connecting traffic is there? Who is flying SYD to JFK to connect? Now some people might sure, but its surely insignificant especially as you are crossing ALL of the USA so most connections would be a backtrack. Connecting folks can easily use the LAX or DFW services for this purpose.

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leviramsey@reddit

Flight time is irrelevant.

Wall Street tends to prefer EWR to JFK and finance is the primary audience that's willing to pay a revenue premium for ULH. That's the reason BA flies a premium-heavy schedule to EWR (as does AF to a lesser extent) and has a decent outstation lounge.

Connecting traffic to the east coast would be more plausible at JFK than EWR due to AA's presence, but you contend that there's not much connecting traffic (thus AA presence isn't relevant) and even if there is a fair amount, if QF has to use connecting traffic to fill seats, this route is probably a failure (and the markets where there might be enough premium connecting traffic (BOS, PHL, DCA) to be worth chasing are ones where EWR is potentially as good as JFK).

There's more oneWorld elites on Long Island than west of the Hudson, but again, on a route like this, FFPs don't matter. The number of people who will decide whether or not to take this flight based on alliance considerations is basically zero (you'd be shocked how many high-fare premium cabin passengers don't even bother to get miles: I've been told a majority of La Premiere pax don't have an FQTV on their booking)

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maverick4002@reddit

They are not going to Newark

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leviramsey@reddit

I didn't say they were, just that EWR might be a better fit.

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dudefise@reddit

It’ll be JFK. Oneworld hub and (replaces?) existing AKL service. Also the prestige airport for NYC metro.

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CutCorners@reddit

The headline is misleading. There is a SYD-LON flight and a separate SYD-NYC flight.

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Probodyne@reddit

These are two separate non-stop flights. Sydney to London and Sydney to New York. I believe they also plan to introduce nonstop flights from both those cities to Melbourne.

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aussie_paramedic@reddit

This is like QF1, which is "direct" to London with a 2hr maintenance stop in Singapore.

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aye246@reddit

The aviation scheduling insider urge to correct everyone who calls a nonstop flight a direct flight … I should be awarded for (mostly) keeping it to myself.

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tropicbrownthunder@reddit

Yup, I was thinking ain't Sidney-NYC shorter than Sydney-London-NYC

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llynglas@reddit

Damn, and I hoped parachutes were involved.

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spaceace321@reddit

Thank you for clarifying that, I was wondering too

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JimmyNewcleus@reddit

Oh okay that makes more sense, thank you.

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mtrayno1@reddit

You weren’t the only one…

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swift1883@reddit

It’s a common trick to make number go up, which is what matters to them.

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mtrayno1@reddit

You mean the post upvotes? Who,upvotes posts with idiot titles?

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IDoStuff100@reddit

Comments, not upvotes. It's the same reason why you'll see videos with silly misspellings on the reddit main page

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swift1883@reddit

Maybe not upvotes but it’ll get people to comment

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CornNut_@reddit

Parachutes, duh

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rsta223@reddit

I believe SYD-LHR is actually further than SYD-JFK, and for the shortest route SYD-JFK, you'd actually go eastward from Sydney over Hawaii and LA, not west over London.

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ciscosuave@reddit

They fly over London, then passengers are dropped off D-Day style, and then go straight to New York.

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2CatDadinSF@reddit

I was going to ask the same thing. Lol

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Lagiacrus111@reddit

Good thing it has 20,000 of extra fuel capacity

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TheRatatouilleR3t4rd@reddit

It's not going to land in London. The people who need to get out in London will have to use parachutes and jump out.

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1markinc@reddit

No i think they just get flushed down via the toilet

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skankhunt000000042@reddit

That’s for the Ministry of Magic only

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heyinternetman@reddit

It’s London, they use umbrellas

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maniBchef@reddit

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Gom8z@reddit

That's all you need when you're Poppin in!

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sudden-arboreal-stop@reddit

Don't forget the spoonful of sugar

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Slash787@reddit

Yeah well if they only flew over London then it would have been nonstop, Sydney to New York is not nonstop but Sydney to London is nonstop.

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Lukasthuering@reddit

Thats also wrong. They will use this plane for nonstop connections between: Sydney-London Sydney-New York

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kiwiinNY@reddit

You misunderstand....because the title is wrong. The flights are Sydney to NY, and Sydney to London.

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blind_squirrel62@reddit

What other routes might call for a plane with this range? Would it be able to serve Tokyo to South America? It seems a plane type with a limited market.

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Signal-Treacle-5512@reddit

Can't think of anything worse than flying Qantas.

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iflysfo@reddit

Wellbeing zone = we needed less seats (weight) because our airplane didn’t have the range.

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BeachHut9@reddit

Bar for Chairman’s Lounge members only?

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mocatmath@reddit

How is Sydney-London-New York considered a nonstop route?

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BeachHut9@reddit

Free parachutes provided for London passengers and their overweight luggage?

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Ok_Lime4124@reddit

Nope. Wouldn’t wanna fly it as a passenger nor work it. Our longest route is LAX to SYD I believe about a 17 hour flight. I can’t hold it anyway due to seniority nor would I want to. Sounds painful.

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Cujo96@reddit

Wouldn't SYD-DFW and PER-LHR be longer?

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tears4fears@reddit

It’s not 17 hours, more like 15-16 tops.

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Look_b4_jumping@reddit

Whatever, it doesn't change the statement. Just makes you look like a know-it-all.

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hchn27@reddit

And it makes you look like you can’t handle criticism

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Look_b4_jumping@reddit

Makes you look like you enjoy dishing out criticism.

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Tricksilver89@reddit

Huge difference between 17 and 14 hours mind you.

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AnyClownFish@reddit

Not even 16, LAX-SYD blocks at 15 hours so not much more than 14 in the air.

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DirectAccountant3253@reddit

We go to visit friends in Sydney every year. It's 14 1/2 going / 13 1/2 returing flying time. In Premium Economy because Business is insanely expensive but love the A380.

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BonChance123@reddit

It's the only way to incept a corporate heir to break up his father's empire, though!

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superphotonerd@reddit

i like this reference

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LateralThinkerer@reddit

a 'Wellbeing Zone' to stretch your legs mid-air.

Riiiggghhhttttt. Space for extra seats next year.

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Holiday_Parsnip_9841@reddit

It's probably weight. Singapore flies their A350 ULRs with just business and premium economy.

Qantas is adding first class and a pretty dense economy, so they probably run out of weight before they run out of space.

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LateralThinkerer@reddit

If they put in a pickleball court they'd have to buy more aircraft to keep up with the demand.

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Some-Air1274@reddit

This is insane. I would rather collapse than take this flight.

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BigGrayBeast@reddit

I'll be the one in a center seat next to someone that smells like rotten cheese with a toddler behind me kicking my seat and a screaming baby in front of me.

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whiskeytown79@reddit

Interesting. I guess they've done the calculations and figured that doing this flight direct will be more profitable than stopping off in like Singapore or Los Angeles.

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Stahi@reddit

Awww, the Beluga gave birth.

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Linux765465@reddit

I thought it was talking about the aircraft in the beginning lol.

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imperial_order66@reddit

As much as I love Airbus, this still feels painful knowing a route like that could have been made for a next gen of the A380. A next step in it's evolution and refining it for better economy. But, it wasn't meant to be.

The 350 is a great plane, and I will always pick an Airbus before a Boeing. I just hope that the market keeps this route going so the 350 keeps a place in the family.

One of the saddest videos I watched was all those beautiful planes sitting in storage, some with the owners refusing to come back after the pandemic.

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YaBaconMeCrazyMon@reddit

What kind of accommodations do the pilots get cause that's a long ass flight for them as well.

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ILikeFlyingMachines@reddit

They have beds, same as in any widebody currently in service

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Ant0n61@reddit

This kind of route should just have a supersonic craft. 22hr is absurd

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ILikeFlyingMachines@reddit

Just lol.

THat costs Billions and will most likely not be allowed in many airports

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vctrmldrw@reddit

'just'

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This-Fruit-8368@reddit

How is Sydney to London to New York nonstop? Parachutes for London?

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Turbulent-Phone-8493@reddit

what is that pod?

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Fluffy_Star6606@reddit

22 hours? Fuck. That.

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Hephaestus1816@reddit

My sister and I used to fly backwards and forwards from the Far East to the UK as unaccompanied minors, usually on Quantas or Singapore Airlines. I remember being really excited on one trip when we were told at the UM Lounge that the connecting flight from Singapore would be on SIA's newest plane, dubbed 'The Big Top' and that we would be sitting upstairs. I didn't even know planes could have an upstairs. Sure, it was so the stews could keep an eye on us but let me tell you It. Was. Brilliant. I imagine I'd feel much the same now as an adult, getting on one of these!

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NeonAndCigarettes@reddit

How do you get off in London? Parachute?

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Old_Mousse_5673@reddit

22 hour non-stop flight sounds like hell

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reddituserperson1122@reddit

Truly awful.

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vctrmldrw@reddit

I don't know. Two 12 hour flights with a stopover on a hard bench in the middle east is hardly a joy.

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Glass_Tap_4494@reddit

Airbus makes the best planes in the world right now!

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aiusernamegen@reddit

Can't fool me it says 707 on the nose.

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No_Calligrapher7615@reddit

It’s almost like the old ocean liner days, but instead of a cabin your strapped to a bleacher

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aiusernamegen@reddit

They need oars. For wellness. No /s

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Cultural_Thing1712@reddit

People that like to reminisce to the ocean liner days forget that us filthy commoners would not get a cabin, we would sleep in bunk beds with 2-10 people a room. For a month.

I would MUCH rather fly bottom of the barrel economy for a shit day than having it prolonged over a month.

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IMakeOkVideosOk@reddit

Yea it’s better to have a crap day on either end of the trip than to have to set aside 6 weeks of being on a boat

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takingphotosmakingdo@reddit

I would fly economy, but my knees would be in the person in front of me's spine.

I physically do not fit being 6'8". Flying will always be expensive for me.

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WAR_T0RN1226@reddit

And instead of taking over a month to get across the world it takes a day

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satellite779@reddit

Ocean liners did it in 7-12 days

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Dennyisthepisslord@reddit

Not from the UK to Australia. In the 1950s it was 3 weeks

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m4button@reddit

No way, I’m getting stuck in a flying tube for 22h, fuck that shit.

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Click4-2019@reddit

Surprised that in flight refuelling hasn’t become a thing like in the military.

Instead of landing, just refuel in midair and carry on to destination.

Got to be cheaper than amount of fuel used during taxiing and takeoff.

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satellite779@reddit

What about the fuel that the tanker will use to taxi, take off, reach the refueling destination, then fly back? And also the cost of having a tanker and the crew?

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Upset-Basil4459@reddit

The tanker could refuel multiple aircraft before landing

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Click4-2019@reddit

It would be free of fuel duty if over international water, so 0 tax.

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Tricksilver89@reddit

Who's paying for the tanker?

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cxxplex@reddit

Air to air refueling isn't used because it's cheaper lol.

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valax@reddit

Air to air refueling is dangerous and requires a huge amount of practice and skill from multiple aircraft. It’s not feasible.

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PuddlesRex@reddit

20,000 of extra fuel capacity, you say?

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R-808@reddit

20,000 gallons or litres?

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chumpynut5@reddit

Probably pounds

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Tricksilver89@reddit

It'll in kg. So an extra 20 tons of fuel, so around 44,000lbs.

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chumpynut5@reddit

Yeah, I got the units wrong, my b

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ArcticBiologist@reddit

Airbus is European, so it's in metric and the comma is a decimal. So it's actually just 20 litres extra

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Approaching_Dick@reddit

I would have thought kg then

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Clarkeyze@reddit

Weight is measured in kg, volume is measured in litres!

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gravy_dad@reddit

And fuel on an airliner is typically quatified by weight.

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Clarkeyze@reddit

It's in metric but the comma isn't a decimal, its 20000 litres extra.

20 litres is bucket size which I doubt anyone manufacture would advertise as a selling point.

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WAR_T0RN1226@reddit

Woosh

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Pugs-r-cool@reddit

Apparently an A350-1000 has an MPG of around 0.35, so 20 litres of fuel adds a whopping 1.8 miles of range!

Idk about you but if I was airbus I'd be bragging about that.

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ArcticBiologist@reddit

There's alway one...

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747ER@reddit

Where does it say gallons?

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masteroffdesaster@reddit

correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a pretty high economy to premium ratio for such flights?

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woofyc_89@reddit

Qantas is doing it different to Singapore airlines

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truth-telling-troll@reddit

The best part about flying to me is the extra connections. You get to stretch your legs, visit a new airport, splurge on airport food, do plane spotting, and see the extra takeoffs/landing views into a new city.

I'm sure the sane people enjoy the nonstop connection tho and the time they save. But if I ever fly for so long I'd happily take the extra connections tbh

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AceCombat9519@reddit

Looking at this if other airlines want this to I can probably see Singapore Airlines going with this although theirs would have to be more premium economy or three class configuration with more seats than the 900

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CoachBuilder66@reddit

But we have to drive electric cars

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hchn27@reddit

No one’s forcing you to drive an electric car …

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CrappyTan69@reddit

For an extra $300, you get complimentary access to the Wellbeing Zone. 💪

Look, it's awesome but I regularly do 12 hour flights. I cannot imagine 22.

Shell out for business class or no flight at all

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hchn27@reddit

The well being zone is actually available to all passengers according to Qantas

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DrunkenKoalas@reddit

It's cool

But I doubt anyone in this thread will be able to even afford an economy ticket on this specific flight

Probs gonna be upwards of 4k aud economy for 12hr non stop from Sydney to London and thats during non peak periods...

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Ottereyes524@reddit

20,000 what?

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vctrmldrw@reddit

Fuels

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Ottereyes524@reddit

lol

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mnztr1@reddit

I was really hoping some airline would have rental capsule beds below the main deck by now so you can get a few hours of horizontal time. But I guess that would cut into business class $$

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macgruff@reddit

Sorry to nitpick, but how is Sydney > London > NY considered “non-stop”. That would be Sydney > NY

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Sunsplitcloud@reddit

If the seat is as nice as LH first, then no one will have any complaint. Catch up on sleep.

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beezxs@reddit

Isn’t JFK-SYD only 19 hours block ?

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Tricksilver89@reddit

It'll be around that. LHR-SYD is 22 hours.

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rekiirek@reddit

Ugh and I thought the 19 hour dfw-syd flight was bad enough.

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Tricksilver89@reddit

LHR-PER is 18 hours, so you're most certainly inflating the flight time there.

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ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit

No way there's only a 3 hour difference between flying to Sydney from Dallas and flying from London. London and Sydney are essentially on opposide ends of the planet (if you created a hole through the Earth at London, the other end would be off the coast of New Zealand. Dallas - Sydney is far but not that far.

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Budget-Deal-7107@reddit

way… dfw-syd flies a southwest route…lhr-syd flies over the middle east to get their.

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whats-a-dog@reddit

Nah hes right its only 15.5 hours. Don't know why this thread is so full of people inflating flight times of existing routes? Like do you all not check before making up numbers

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Drew1231@reddit

I’m sitting here dreading my 5.5 hr LAX-OGG.

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Inevitable_Owl4338@reddit

That’s around 16, not 19 hours

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Budget-Deal-7107@reddit

i wonder if there needs to be 3 sets of pilots for this moronathon length of a flight?

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Tricksilver89@reddit

5 is probably doable to keep 2 on the flight deck at all times.

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grindcorey@reddit

Hold TF up.... Is that a plane that Transports planes??? I thought I was an enthusiast but damn.... Planeception.

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RodrigoroRex@reddit

The airbus beluga is one of the most infamous planes among enthusiasts. It even got its name from the public

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leviramsey@reddit

Infamous? What's wrong with it?

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DadJustTrying@reddit

Impressive engineering! Amazing to me that things of this size, built in sections, remain intact with all the weights and stresses that would be applied repeatedly flight after flight. Imagine the forces on every connection point at take-off for a 22 hour flight with max fuel weight, max cargo, and max pax!?

Can anyone point me to in-depth diagrams or explanations about how each section of fuselage (or wing, for that matter) is connected to each other? Seems like those would be major points of stress and potential failure, especially over such a long body.

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punkslaot@reddit

Hell yeah

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Logical-Respect3600@reddit

Why the fuck would anyone do it? One guy who flew direct to America from Australia got bounced by ICE because he took an "indirect" route. Ther would be zero market for it. I thought QANTAS had more sense.

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West_Coach69@reddit

Op apparently unfamiliar with the term non stop

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markp_93@reddit

So the A350-1000ULR is technically ambergris?

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SaintedTainted@reddit

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takingphotosmakingdo@reddit

Wellbeing, rather than needed leg room for economy? K.

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This_Elk_1460@reddit

People in the comments here are always arguing over whether or not modern Boeing sucks. Meanwhile Airbus just continues to be the best aircraft manufacturer in the world.

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Mundane_Opening3831@reddit

Always so magical seeing a baby airplane fuselage being born

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MandalorianBeskar@reddit

I was curious about what the 'Wellbeing Zone' might look like and where it would be located, and found these photos,

“Available for passengers in any class, the A350 will feature Qantas’ first inflight Wellbeing Zone. Located between the Economy and Premium Economy cabins, the Wellbeing Zone is a space where you can follow specially curated guided movements on large monitors and enjoy a selection of healthy refreshments.”

https://www.qantas.com/fj/en/about-us/our-company/fleet/new-fleet/project-sunrise/wellbeing-zone.html

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candylandmine@reddit

The Thrombosis Express, they're calling it.

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Never_Forget_94@reddit

I think that’s what the wellness zone is supposed to prevent.

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HaasNL@reddit

Have they considered departing in the other direction? /s

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Abramshunter@reddit

Possibly silly question- does the cabin crew work 22 hours straight or do they work shifts/carry multiple crews?

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Can_Not_Double_Dutch@reddit

Shifts

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dek00s@reddit

They will have at least two crews. They will swap out after the first crew hits their time limit and the first crew will go to crew rest (there are crew bunk beds in the crown of the fuselage above the overhead bins). They could swap multiple times in a flight this long.

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