Airbus A350-1000ULR world record longest commercial flight Melbourne Toulouse, Digi Mart USA News (Melbourne, Australia to Toulouse, France): Airbus announced on Monday that a flight between Melbourne, Australia and Toulouse, France on July 27 and 28 by an Airbus A350-1000ULR (Ultra-Long Range) has officially broken the Guinness World Record for the longest flight by a commercial airliner. The record is based on flight data independently validated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (IAF) and Flightradar24.
The aircraft, registered AIB35LR, took off from Melbourne at 5:27 p.m. local time on Monday, July 27 and landed in Toulouse at 9:51 a.m.
local time on Tuesday, July 28. The flight covered 12,503 nautical miles (23,155 kilometers) in 24 hours and 24 minutes.
The flight was part of the flight test campaign for the A350-1000ULR, developed for Qantas Airways under the Project Sunrise program. It involved a 23-hour flight designed to simulate the longest possible commercial flights with this aircraft.
The feat was made possible mainly by the integration of an additional rear central fuel tank into the aircraft structure, which further improves performance and increases its range by 1,000 nautical miles. Thirteen people were on board, including a crew of three Airbus test pilots, two Qantas pilots and five Airbus flight test engineers.
“By covering 12,503 nautical miles without a stop, we have fully demonstrated the aircraft’s ability to fulfill its mission. And this world record is the icing on the cake!” said Lars Wagner, chief executive of Airbus Commercial Aircraft.
After departing Melbourne, the aircraft flew over Sydney and then headed northeast toward Los Angeles over the Pacific. It then crossed North America and the Atlantic before turning south toward the United Kingdom, passing over London and then Toulouse.
During the flight, which crossed three continents and two oceans, the crew saw two sunsets and two sunrises.
The A350-1000ULR will allow Qantas Airways to operate, for the first time, nonstop flights between Sydney and London and New York, a distance of nearly 10,000 nautical miles, with flight times of up to 22 hours.
The A350-1000ULR is the fourth passenger version of the A350 family, joining the A350-900, A350-900ULR and A350-1000. Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft under Project Sunrise.
Delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for April of next year, with service on the Sydney-London route later in the year. Separately, the airline has also ordered 12 standard A350-1000 aircraft for its future long-haul flights.
