Flying from Australia to London is nothing new: In 1947, Qantas launched its first service linking Sydney with the British capital. The catch? It involved six stops and 55 hours of flying across five days. The multi-hop journey was coined “the Kangaroo Route,” paying homage to Australia’s unofficial ambassador.
Fast forward to 2025, and Qantas will soon take delivery of a new aircraft that promises to “overcome the tyranny of distance.” It will fly from Sydney to London and New York nonstop, cutting out the middlemen in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The airline’s marketing materials describe it as “the final frontier of aviation.” But what does it mean for the business of travel?
An Ultra Long-Haul Project
Even reaching this pre-launch stage has been almost a decade in the making. Qantas uses the codename “Project Sunrise” – a tip of the hat to 1940s wartime flights that crossed the Indian Ocean by seaplane. These 30-hour missions wer
