To say I am excited about Project Sunrise at Qantas is an understatement. As an Australian, it is the final link in connecting our country in one stop to the world’s major cities. In the name of research, the Aussie carrier is doing some epic flights.
Announced today are special research flights, two non-stop from New York to Sydney and one non-stop from London to Sydney. This will be the first time a commercial airliner has operated a flight between New York and Sydney.
Why Are They Doing This Research?
Since the proposed Project Sunrise flights will become the longest flights in the world, medical experts and scientists are working on making these flights as comfortable as possible. While Qantas are proposing wellness areas on board for passengers to relax, there is more to it than that.
Sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, lighting, physical movement and inflight entertainment will all be assessed to see the impact on health, wellbeing and a person’s body clock. Research that went into the extremely successful Perth to London ultra-long haul flights is going even more in depth.
A Video About The Research
For those short of time, Qantas have put together a quick one minute video which summarises what is happening. It provides an excellent overview of what is going on.
Qantas end the video with the voiceover saying, “… one that could link each side of the globe in a single hop.” The whole reason the Australian airline has a Kangaroo as its logo is because the animal hops, and the early flights between Australia and Europe had many hops.
Overall Thoughts
While there will be around 40 people on each flight, it promises to be a research extravaganza. According to the Qantas press release, in addition to passengers, flight crews will also be monitored to find out the most healthy way to do these flights.
Qantas are using the Boeing 787-9 delivery flights to do these trips. Instead of flying from Boeing in Seattle to Sydney, they will reposition to London and New York for the research. I think this is an excellent idea!
What do you think of these research flights? Are you excited about Project Sunrise? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image is a still from a YouTube video by HD Melbourne Aviation.
