Qantas Declines Airbus and Boeing Project Sunrise Offers
Qantas Declines Airbus and Boeing Project Sunrise Offers

Qantas Declines Airbus and Boeing Project Sunrise Offers

Aaron Hilsz-Lothian·
AirbusAirbus IndustrieAviation NewsBoeingQantas

As Project Sunrise efforts continue and aircraft evaluation enters the final stages, Qantas has turned their backs on Airbus and Boeing and declined their first round of offers

Aiming to fly from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York, Qantas has been assessing the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 777X for years now; hoping to receive an aircraft capable of operating the ultra long-haul routes.

However during the first round of final offers from Airbus and Boeing, submitted in August, Qantas declined, saying the manufacturers need to significantly reduce their prices for the business case to work.

With that made clear to Airbus and Boeing, they were sent on their way by Qantas who is now eagerly waiting to hear back to see what further pricing deals can be achieved.

Qantas Declines Airbus and Boeing Project Sunrise Offers

But price isn’t everything to Qantas. This long-haul dream is more than purchasing an aircraft with enough range; it is also about purchasing an aircraft that can operate in a “what if” scenario, where the Project Sunrise flights might not be operating in the future.

Whatever aircraft is chosen will be flying for Qantas for more than 20 years, so the flexibility, technologies and conditions that make up a “future proof” airliner are all being looked at closely.

If the business case doesn’t stack up, with Airbus and Boeing not being able to submit an aircraft with acceptable conditions, then Qantas isn’t afraid to pull the plug, or at least suspend the project.

Where Qantas has extreme leverage is in their location and reputation. As one of the most highly-regarded airlines in the world, and being the mainline operator for Australia, when Qantas wants something they get it and it is always a significant deal.

For Airbus and Boeing winning a Qantas order, even a small one, displays a significant sign of confidence in their products and the decisions are covered around the world.

The two out of the three research flights operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner have proven incredibly successful, telling the airline and the world that these flights can be done and the demand is there; but without cheap acquisition costs for aircraft and insufficient foundations for such flights, then no reason exists to launch them.

Sam Chui was on the London Heathrow to Sydney non-stop research flight, which you can read about and watch here:

Qantas “Project Sunrise” London to Sydney Non-Stop Research Flight

As well as aircraft Qantas also needs to gain approval from aviation regulators to operate these flights, as pilots and cabin crew will be performing up to 24 hour work days.

Aircraft technical performance and engine durability are among the other factors Qantas is working with suppliers on.

2023 is Qantas’ targeted date for these flights to begin commercial operations; however with 777X delays hammering Boeing, this time could change depending on what aircraft manufacture is selected.

However, with Air New Zealand’s announcement of Auckland to New York non-stop, Qantas is eager to retain their competitive long-haul operations, with a hopeful eye for a successful Project Sunrise launch.

“I have no problem… in saying ‘we gave it a good try but it didn’t work’.”

Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas – via the Sydney Morning Herald

What are your thoughts on this scenario?

Aaron Hilsz-Lothian

Based in Sydney Australia, Aaron currently works as as a load control planner among the regional operation centre of a major airline. In addition to this, he has multiple years of experience in a frontline aviation environment including ramp, customer acceptance and freight. Writing casually for Sam Chui since 2018, he intends to use his experience in the industry to answer everyday questions that passengers often ponder and to shed light on the complex systems that make aviation so fascinating.

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7 Responses

  1. Hi Sam,
    Why did QF finally opt for the A350-1000, over the Dreamliner, for Sunrise flights (if they ever eventuate), when the B787 proved itself excellently during the Research flights?
    Thanks, Sam.

    Reply

  2. with the way qantas has reduced quality of services, they need to significantly reduce their prices if they want to maintain their customer base.

    Price is everything to qantas – joyce comes from a budget airline background and all he knows how to do is strip an airlines services naked, without shaving the prices I may add.

    I’ve migrated to qantas domestic competition recently – and the contrast is stark. I won’t be flying QF again.

    Reply

  3. How many Airbus 220 ( bombardier) are being built in Canada and how many airlines have purchased this plane sofar.
    Thank you.

    Reply

  4. If the Qantas Business Plan works by virtue of the manufacturer being screwed, then it’s not a plan, it’s an extortion racket.

    Reply

  5. Please see a comment from The Travel Insider: It gives an alternative explanation on Qantas propaganda.

    The Truth Comes Out About the Qantas Publicity Flight Stunts

    As I’ve been gently hinting, one of the underlying disconnects that have been quietly ignored by an adoring press rushing to print ever-more superlative-ridden articles about the Qantas non-stop flight from New York to Sydney and then a second flight from London to Sydney – not only are these one-off flights, but they are not possible commercially at present because there’s no plane out there than can operate over those distances with a full/commercial load of passengers.

    I’d actually been starting to wonder if maybe Airbus or Boeing had come up with the plane that Qantas has long been asking them for. But now, this week, at their Investor Day presentations, Qantas admitted that neither of the two companies have come up with a plane at a price that would work for them yet.

    Meanwhile we continue to be subject to inane pictures of inane smug passengers doing stretching exercises in the aisles of the two special flights (see the linked article immediately above). What are the chances of that actually happening on a real flight? So much less than zero as to be impossible to measure. Just think about arranging it when you’ve ten seats in a row and two aisles. You couldn’t fit everyone in the aisle at the same time – we all know that when trying to get off the plane. So you’d have to have half the people first, then the other half, (or maybe even three groups) and people climbing over other people and utter chaos. Surely there’s nothing more unrealistic than suggesting this sort of thing would happen (except maybe in first class, but I have to say, when I’m in first class, the last thing I’d want is mandatory exercises every couple of hours during the flight!).

    I’m still waiting for the article on one of these flights to come out which says “It was a lovely flight on a 90% empty plane, with VIP service for us few like would never be done in regular coach class on a full flight, so none of what we experienced and are writing about will ever happen on real flights, and – oh yes – even though it’s only an hour or so longer than regular flights, there’s not any planes out there that could operate this flight commercially”.

    Reply

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