Overview
- Airbus has joined the fuselage, wings and landing gear in Toulouse, with the aircraft moving next to a specialist hangar for engine and flight-instrument installation.
- Qantas targets a 2026 flight-test program and expects the first of 12 A350-1000ULRs to be delivered in late 2026 for commercial launch in early 2027.
- The aircraft is intended to operate nonstop Sydney–London and Sydney–New York routes of up to 22 hours, which Qantas says will cut travel time by as much as four hours versus one-stop trips.
- Qantas’s configuration reduces capacity to 238 seats and adds a Wellbeing Zone between Premium Economy and Economy with stretch handles, guided exercise screens, a hydration station and light refreshments.
- Range is enabled by an extra 20,000-litre rear fuel tank and updated systems, with cabin and service elements shaped by designer David Caon and University of Sydney sleep researchers to help reduce jet lag.