Airbus carried out the inaugural flight of the A350-1000ULR destined for Qantas Airways on Tuesday out of Toulouse, France. The flight, operated by an Airbus flight test crew using special flight test instrumentation, lasted three hours and 43 minutes and climbed to an altitude slightly above 41,000 feet.
Designated MSN 707, the aircraft is the first of a 12-aircraft order placed by Qantas. During the sortie, the crew ran through general aircraft performance checks and specifically evaluated the new fuel system architecture fitted to the ultra-long-range variant.
Airbus is developing the A350-1000ULR to support Qantas' ambition to fly nonstop between Sydney and London, covering a route of almost 10,000 nautical miles with scheduled flight times of up to 22 hours. A key structural change on the ULR is the integration of an additional rear centre tank into the aircraft structure, a modification that increases range by 1,000 nautical miles compared with the standard model.
The first flight begins a planned two-month flight test campaign aimed at certifying the modifications introduced for the ULR configuration. Test activity during this period will extend beyond flight performance to include evaluation of systems intended for very long flights. That program will examine a new galley air cooling system equipped with lighter and more efficient refrigeration units and will assess cabin ventilation and temperature control systems.
After the flight test campaign is complete, MSN 707 will be returned to Airbus facilities for retrofit to Qantas' commercial specification. The second A350-1000ULR for Qantas is already in final assembly and is scheduled for delivery in April 2027; it is reported to be ready to exit the paint shop and will subsequently receive its premium four-class cabin layout and engine installation.
The A350-1000ULR represents the fourth passenger variant within the A350 Family. As of the end of April 2026, the A350 Family had accumulated 1,579 orders from 68 customers, with more than 700 aircraft in service across 41 operators. Qantas' fleet commitments include 12 A350-1000ULRs under Project Sunrise plus 12 standard A350-1000s intended for its long-haul network.
Context for industry participants
The flight and the subsequent certification program mark a developmental milestone for the ULR variant and for Qantas' Project Sunrise fleet plans. The work underway will validate both the altered fuel architecture and cabin environmental subsystems that are tailored to sustained operations approaching 22 hours.
What happens next
- Completion of a two-month flight test campaign focused on certification of the ULR modifications.
- Retrofit of MSN 707 to Qantas' commercial configuration after testing concludes.
- Continued final assembly work on the second ULR, scheduled for April 2027 delivery, including cabin installation and engine fit.