On a stage at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson declared: "The tyranny of distance has finally been conquered." This is the same airline that launched the Kangaroo route between London and Sydney in 1947, a seven-stop, four-day odyssey that made Odysseus look like a weekend traveler. Now, come October 2027, Qantas plans to fly that route non-stop in about 22 hours, shaving off four hours and one stop in Singapore.

To make this marathon bearable, Qantas is fitting its Airbus A350-1000s with extra fuel tanks, optimized cabin lighting, and a "wellness" area where passengers can follow stretching exercises on a screen. Because nothing says "relaxation" like doing lunges in a metal tube at 35,000 feet. The airline is also increasing legroom in economy and dedicating 40% of seats to premium cabins, presumably to ensure that only the rich and the desperate will experience this particular form of torture.

Some travelers, like Australian Karis Heemskerk, are fans: "Direct flights cut time and there is no risk of missed connections or lost luggage." Others, like cultural consultant Tom Gill, are less enthusiastic: "The idea of sitting in a plane for 20, 21 hours non-stop would be quite unbearable for me." He also notes the expected 20% price premium, concluding it's not a flight he'll catch anytime soon - unless it somehow becomes cheaper.

The route, dubbed Project Sunrise, has been in development since 2017 and faced delays, not to mention Qantas's recent legal and reputational troubles. In 2024, Qantas paid a A$100m penalty for selling tickets on already-cancelled flights, and in 2025 it was fined A$90m for illegally sacking 1,800 ground staff. The airline's Skytrax ranking plummeted from 5th to 24th. Hudson, who took over in 2023 and apologized profusely, says the airline is focused on rebuilding trust. Whether that trust extends to being sealed in a pressurized tube for nearly a day remains to be seen.

Airbus chief test pilot Malcolm Ridley notes that the engineering change was modest, and other airlines have shown informal interest. Singapore Airlines already operates the world's longest flight (Singapore to New York), proving that some people will indeed pay a lot to avoid a stopover. For Qantas, this is about conquering "one of the last frontiers in commercial aviation" - and hoping enough customers are willing to sit through it.