Australia's remoteness has turned Qantas into an ultra-long-haul specialist, and its 2026 network already includes some of the lengthiest nonstop flights on the planet. The crown jewel is Perth to London — flights QF9/QF10 — covering roughly 7,830 nautical miles in about 17 and a half hours. From June 2026, the return leg picks up a Singapore stopover due to Middle East airspace disruptions pushing the Boeing 787-9 close to its limits, though the outbound remains nonstop.
Hot on its heels is Melbourne to Dallas/Fort Worth at 7,862 nautical miles, plus Perth to Paris, Auckland to New York (which Qantas shares with Air New Zealand), Sydney to Dallas, and seasonal Perth to Rome. All the Europe nonstops leave from Perth rather than Sydney or Melbourne, simply because the southeast coast sits too far from London for current aircraft.
The bigger story is what's coming. Qantas' Project Sunrise, announced in 2017, finally takes off with the first custom Airbus A350-1000ULR, named Vega, due for delivery in April 2027. Nonstop Sydney-London flights should launch in October 2027 — around 9,200 nautical miles and 20 to 22 hours in the air, which would make it the longest scheduled passenger flight ever by both distance and duration. Sydney-New York follows in mid-2028. Qantas will also start retiring its A380s from 2028 as the A350s arrive.
For now, the 787-9 does the heavy lifting on these marathon routes, backed by 28 A330s and ten A380s in the mainline fleet. Tailwinds explain why timings differ by direction: Pacific crossings are much faster heading east to the US, while Europe-bound flights out of Australia fight headwinds.
Qantas also reaches every continent — Santiago, Johannesburg, five North American gateways including Vancouver, plus Bangalore, Tokyo and seasonal Sapporo in Asia. And in a quirky footnote, its seasonal Antarctic sightseeing flights circle the continent with 787-9s without ever landing; seven operated in the 2025/2026 season.
For travellers, the practical takeaway is simple: if you want to fly the world's longest routes before Sydney-London rewrites the record books, Perth-London is the one to book — and the new A350 era promises to make 20-hour nonstops routine.
