LONG HAUL
You could be taking Qantas’ non-stop flight from London to Sydney in 2023 – here’s what the 19-hour trip is like
YOU could soon fly non-stop from London to Sydney on Qantas.
The Australia-based airline has been conducting a series of test flights on ultra long-haul routes, with the latest from the UK to Australia landing this morning.
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The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner left Heathrow around 6am on Thursday (November 14) and landed in Sydney at 12:28pm local time on Friday (November 15) - a whole 19 hours and 19 minutes after take-off.
The flight, carrying 50 people including passengers and crew, was conducted to research the effects of ultra long haul services on crew and passengers.
Passengers were served food designed to aid sleep shortly after boarding, which included a chicken broth to start, followed by a choice of steak sandwiches, a croque madame, a green salad bowl or a ricotta tart.
A panna cotta was served for pudding, which scientists hoped to sooth passengers into feeling tired.
Qantas breaks world record for longest ever continuous flight flying for 19 hours and 16 minutes from New York to Sydney
Throughout the flight, coconut water and juices were served to keep travellers hydrated, while breakfast options were all spicy to make the body more awake.
Passengers were encouraged to sleep five hours into the flight as although this was just 10:30am in London, it was already 9:30pm in Sydney.
Captain Helen Trenerry, who led the test flight, explained some of the research that were conducted on the flight.
How passengers tackled jet lag on the Qantas flight
On Qantas' New York to Sydney test flight, the airline analysed how passengers could avoid jet lag following the 19 hour flight.
Some of the ways they tackled it included:
- Doing yoga and meditation
- Sleeping and eating at the time of the destination
- Eating spicy food to stay awake
- Eating soothing desserts and drinks to fall asleep
- Using cool blue lights during day hours and warmer tones during night hours
For example, passengers' activity and sleeping patterns were tracked, as well as their melatonin levels, which contribute to reducing jet lag.
The same tests were also run on the pilot and crew, to see if the long flight is viable for them as well.
All of this data could be used to design an ultra long-haul route available to the general public.
The airline needs to get pilots to agree on flying the long route, and receive approval by Australia's aviation regulator, to launch the flights by 2023.
Captain Trenerry said while she would be happy to fly the route, it would need to be limited, such as once a month as it will be "fatiguing in the long term".
The airline is even considering removing a number of plane seats to create "move and stretch" zones especially for their long-haul flights.
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Qantas has named the project "Project Sunrise" after the airline's double sunrise endurance flights during World War Two, which remained airborne long enough to see two sunrises.
Those on board witnessed the two sunrises during the flight, the first to the right of the aircraft as it headed north-east after takeoff, and the second to its left as it flew over Indonesia.
Aside from research, the flight kicked off a year of celebrations for the centenary of the airline, which will officially turn 99 on Saturday.
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said the flight continued the airline's history of helping Australia engage with the rest of the world.
He said in a statement: "Qantas is a national icon because it's been such a big part of Australian life for so long.
"Our founders talked about overcoming the tyranny of distance and through the years we've moved from bi-planes, to single wing, to jets to help bring things closer."
The airlines has already tested the non-stop flight route from New York to Sydney last month, which took 19 hours.
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