Qantas choses A350-1000 for Project Sunrise
 

Qantas has pushed back the deadline for a final decision on whether to proceed with plans to operate nonstop flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York by three months to March 2020.

Despite the delay, Qantas said on Friday it had chosen the Airbus A350-1000 as the aircraft to complete these ultra long-haul missions, should it opt to proceed with what it has called Project Sunrise.

No orders have been placed for the A350-1000. Instead, Qantas said Airbus had given the airline a one-month extension to March 2020 to place an order for up to 12 aircraft without impacting the proposed flights beginning in the first half of calendar 2023.

That extra time would be used to continue discussions with pilot groups for a new work contract covering the proposed ultra long-haul services, Qantas said. The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) is the union representing Qantas pilots.

“The discussions are aimed at closing the last remaining gap in the Project Sunrise business case,” Qantas said.

“Qantas has put forward a number of suggestions to AIPA on how the gap might be closed while still offering three per cent annual pay increases and promotional opportunities to its long haul pilots.”

“Discussions centre on productivity and efficiency gains, including the ability to use the same pilots across its A350 Sunrise aircraft and the airline’s existing fleet of Airbus A330s.”

Further, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said management had offered “promotions and an increase in pay” in return for “some flexibility”, which would help lower the airline’s operating costs.

“From the outset, we’ve been clear that Project Sunrise depends on a business case that works. We’ll only commit to this investment if we know it will generate the right return for our shareholders given the inherent commercial risks,” Joyce said in a statement.

“We’ve done a lot of work on the economics and we know the last gap we have to close is some efficiency gains associated with our pilots.”

https://australianaviation.com.au/20...to-march-2020/

Two A350-1000s would be required to operate SYD- JFK or LHR non-stop on a daily basis. A twelve A350-1000 order would see QANTAS potentially able to operate daily non-stop flights from MEL, SYD and BNE to JFK and LHR.

They would need a minimum of three for either route if commercial considerations come into play

Yes, operating 20 hour flights with only two hour turnaround times day in and day out would be much too tight.

I read today in Executive Traveller that Frankfurt is being added to the Project Sunrise destinations.

https://www.executivetraveller.com/n...rise-frankfurt

Qantas Sunrise Project A350 to be “real dream machine”

The Qantas A350, which will operate the airline’s ultra-long-haul flights will indeed be a dream machine as well as a time machine taking passengers back to the roomy days when economy travel was pleasant.

One insider in Sydney told AirlineRatings.com that the A350 will be the most spacious commercial aircraft flying and a “real dream machine”

According to the insiders, the configuration of the A350 will be four classes and economy passengers will get about 34-inch (86.4cm) seat pitch, rather than the normal 31 inches (79cm).

And the economy seats will be wider than those on the 787 and 747.

The Qantas A350 economy seats will be 18 inches (45.7cm) wide – almost an inch (2.54cm) wider than those on the 787.

It is understood that the passenger configuration of the A350 will be around 270 seats rather than the 300 touted in the original Sunrise Project specification.

The insiders tell AirlineRatings.com that First Class, Business Class and Premium Economy will all be “significantly” enhanced with more legroom in Premium Economy, closer to Air New Zealand’s industry high 42 inches (106.7cm).

And the word is that the first 12 to be delivered from late 2021 will be just the start of a major buy from Airbus.

While the nonstop routes New York to Sydney and Sydney to London for the A350 get the all headlines the aircraft will be used from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to London as well as New York to Sydney and Melbourne.

Those services alone will require more A350s than Qantas has on order.

Following those routes, others such as Los Angeles to Perth non-stop will evolve.

Insiders suggest a fleet of 30 A350s could be expected within 10 years.

It is also highly likely say insiders that the airline’s 12 A380 will not last for another 10 years as stated by the airline being retired starting from 2025/6.

Qantas’s A380s are currently undergoing an expensive refurbishment program with the first two in service.

https://www.airlineratings.com/news/...muBCkuTSJOZdx4

LOL what a load of speculation and rubbish! These services alone will require more A350s than Qantas has on order, doh, Qantas dont have any on order!

Yes but once they get the Pilots EBA sorted then they surely will order them.Just a matter of time.:)

They did say final go/no go is due by the end of March to ensure slots, and the capacity reductions are not going to help EBA discussions. Looks like a JQ A320 off to Qantaslink!

Alan Joyce: No shortage of pilots for London to Sydney route

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce upped the stakes in his negotiation with staff over the upcoming London to Sydney route, telling reporters there was “no shortage of pilots” ready to take on the assignment.

Talking as he announced cuts to services to Asia, he said, “I’ve had the letter from a captain from China Southern who says he’s been laid off in recent issues there, and he can get hundreds of captains from China and Asia to operate Project Sunrise if we want to.”

The direct response comes after a memo leaked to Reuters last week said the airline wouldn’t shy away from forming a lower-cost pilot group if a deal could not be reached for the new ultra-long-haul route.

Qantas and the Australian and International Pilots Association have been locked in talks for months over a deal to operate Project Sunrise, the name of Qantas’ ambitious plan to fly non-stop from the east coast of Australia to London and New York from 2023.

The airline has selected the Airbus SE A350-1000 as its plane to undertake the 17,000 kilometre journey – but the order is contingent on reaching a deal with pilots by March.

In the memo obtained by Reuters, Qantas International head Tino La Spina was reported as saying the airline would form a new lower-cost pilot group if needs be.

He said, “Airbus extended the delivery slots one last time once they knew they were the preferred supplier, but they are not willing to continue their exposure beyond that point.”

The memo added that the offer for A330 pilots who would also fly the A350 is 5 per cent more than for its Boeing 787 fleet.

In a statement after the release of the leaked email, La Spina said, “Our strong preference is to reach an agreement with our pilots.”

The escalation of the dispute came on a busy day for Qantas, which announced earlier that it would reduce overall capacity to Asia by 15 per cent until at least the end of May, cut international capacity by 16 per cent, and cut Jetstar seats to the region by a further 14 per cent.

Flights between Sydney and Shanghai will remain suspended, Joyce said, while the popular route between Hong Kong and Sydney will be halved from 14 trips a week to just seven.

Meanwhile, flights from Melbourne and Brisbane will be axed, as will Jetstar flights to Japan and Thailand.

Jetstar flights between Australia and New Zealand will also be reduced by around 5 per cent, and the group’s domestic capacity will go down by 2.3 per cent in the second half of the year.

Joyce said, “Coronavirus resulted in the suspension of flights to mainland China, and we’re now seeing some secondary impacts and weaker demand on Hong Kong, Singapore and to a lesser extent Japan.

“What’s important is that we have flexibility in how we respond to coronavirus and how we maintain our strategic position more broadly.”

https://australianaviation.com.au/20...c0223e68310bb1