Over the course of 24 hours and 24 minutes, the Airbus A350-1000ULR flight test aircraft set a new world record for distance flown by a commercial aircraft. The flight covered 12,460 Nautical Miles (23,075.92 km), besting the old record held by a Boeing 777-200LR since 2005.
The world record A350-1000ULR flight path
The flight was operated by Airbus’ longest-range A350, the A350-1000ULR, which is purpose-built for Qantas’ Project Sunrise flights. Commercial flights with the aircraft are currently scheduled to begin next year. To certify the aircraft, Airbus is required to perform a variety of tests, some of which include ultra-long endurance flights. The manufacturer also needed to prove to Qantas that the aircraft had the endurance required for Project Sunrise flights. As part of those test flights, Airbus set its sights on breaking the distance record for a commercial aircraft.
After spending the weekend in Melbourne, the aircraft departed at 07:28 UTC on 27 July. The flight touched down at Airbus’ home base in Toulouse 24 hours, 24 minutes later at 07:52 UTC on 28 July.
Fact and figures
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Total distance
12,460 NM (23,075.92 km)This sets a new world record for distance traveled by a commercial aircraft. Great circle distance between the two cities is just 16,888 km.
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Total flight time
24 h, 24 minThe longest non-stop commercial flights ever lasted 33+ hours and were operated by Qantas during World War II with Catalina flying boats.
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Maximum altitude
41,000 feet (FL410) -
Maximum ground speed
662 knots -
Continents
3 -
Oceans crossed
2 -
Sunsets
2 -
Sunrises
2 -
Timezones
17 -
FIRs crossed
19Flight Information Regions are areas of air traffic control responsibility.
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Number of follows on Flightradar24
3,652,947This makes AIB35LR the second most tracked flight of all time behind the final flight of Queen Elizabeth II. The flight from Melbourne to Toulouse moves the preceding flight from Toulouse to Melbourne down to the number 3 spot on our list.
Connecting Sydney and London
As part of the test flight from Melbourne to Toulouse designed to demonstrate the aircraft’s endurance and prove that a 23 hour block time is possible, the flight passed over a few notable locations. After leaving Melbourne, the flight crossed over Sydney Airport, the starting location of Qantas’ Project Sunrise flights.
22 hours later, the flight passed over Rolls Royce’s Derby facility, the location where the A350-1000ULR’s TRENT XWB-97 engines are produced.
And shortly after that, the flight passed London’s Heathrow Airport, the destination for the first Project Sunrise flights. Flights from Sydney to New York will be the project’s second destination.
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