Qantas strikes multibillion-dollar deal that could create the world's longest flight, insiders say

The deal is reportedly worth $25 billion.

AP

• Qantas reaches deal with Airbus to make planes for 20-hour London-Sydney route by 2025, per Reuters. 
• The deal for more than 150 jets could reach $25 billion, per local outlet The West Australian.
• Qantas' chief executive had called the route the "Holy Grail" for the airline. 

Qantas has struck a deal with manufacturer Airbus to design planes capable of traveling from London to Sydney, in what would be the world's longest nonstop commercial route, sources told Reuters.

The agreement, reportedly worth billions of dollars, would see the Australian airliner order Airbus SE A350-1000 jets from the European manufacturer and is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

The plan, labeled "Project Sunrise," is expected to be announced at a Sydney Hangar on Monday. At nearly 20 hours, the "Kangaroo Route" could be the longest commercial flight on record. 

The West Australian newspaper reported that the value at list prices, if orders for more than 150 Airbus jets went through, would be close to $25 billion. This would be the largest order in the airline's 102-year history. 

Qantas spokesperson referred to the Monday announcement but offered no further comment. Airbus didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment outside normal working hours.

The flight time would eclipse those of competitors, and rival the current record flight of more than 19 hours between New York and Singapore. In 2018, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told BBC Breakfast that the Sydney-London route would be the "Holy Grail" for the company, after beginning routes from the West of Australia to the UK capital.

The breakthrough comes amid renewed struggles for US-based rival Boeing in its attempt to crack marathon flights. In its first-quarter earnings announcement, the company delayed the rollout of its 777x aircraft, which was planned to travel from London to Sydney, until 2025. 

Qantas had previously switched its domestic fleet from Boeing to Airbus in December. 

Cathay Pacific Airways might have laid claim to the world's longest flight by distance in a bid to avoid Russian and Ukrainian airspace following Putin's invasion.

A source told Insider's Taylor Rains that Cathay had planned a contingency route over 10,000 miles long between New York and Hong Kong, but that they relied on heavy tailwinds. 

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