Qantas plans to open direct scheduled services from East Australia to
London and New York within a few years. To know what the effects of these
ultra-long flights are on the well-being of crew and passengers, the
Australian airline is planning three test flights, which will be carried
out with factory-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.
 
The plans for direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Europe
and North America are known as "Project Sunrise". That should be
the longest non-stop airborne services in the world. The purpose of the
test flights is to simulate the scheduled services as truthfully as
possible. The schedule includes two flights from New York and one from
London in the months of October, November and December.
 
The Boeing 787-9s with which Qantas performs the test flights are flown to
New York or London after delivery in Seattle. From there, a course is set
for Sydney. The simulation flights, including the crew, will have forty
people on board. In this way, weight is saved and the flight range
increases, so that the Boeing 787-9 can perform the flights directly. Fully
loaded does not work.
 
Measuring equipment
 
The passengers in the cabin - mainly Qantas personnel - will carry
measuring equipment and participate in specific experiments during the
approximately nineteen-hour flights. Scientists and physicians from a
renowned institute monitor the influence of sleep patterns, food and drink
intake, light, exercise and inflight entertainment on health, well-being
and the body.
 
Researchers from Monash University investigate the pilots during the test
flights. The melotonin level is measured both before and after the flight.
This is a hormone that plays a role in the body's sleep-wake rhythm. The
pilots wear an EEG device that tracks brain wave patterns and monitors
alertness. According to Qantas, the data should contribute to creating
optimal working and rest times for pilots on these ultra-long flights.
 
Not a done deal
 
Whether the intended flights of Project Sunrise will actually be introduced
is still uncertain. Qantas expects to take a decision there at the end of
December. "There is enough enthusiasm for Project Sunrise, but it is
not a foregone conclusion," says CEO Alan Joyce. An important
condition is that the Airbus A350ULR or Boeing 777X - both candidates for
the ultra-long flights - can operate the flights in a profitable way with
sufficient payload. "Ultimately it is a business decision."
 
With the flights, Qantas sets a new milestone: it will be the first time
that an airline flies directly from New York to Sydney. A direct flight
between London and Sydney has only been operated once before, also by
Qantas. That was in 1989, in honor of the introduction of the Boeing
747-400.
 
Note from the moderator:
------------------------
 
Airbus has already flown a non-stop sector Toulouse to Auckland (New
Zealand) and back with an A340. This is over 2.000km more than Qantas
plans. The flights took some 22 hours ... 

--- D'Bridge 3.99