Qantas Project Sunrise goes ahead, 12 new A350-1000s ordered

[elanshin]

Does anyone know when Qantas will have its full fleet of A350-1000ULRs? Are they going to be delivered very close to one another, or will deliveries be spread out over many years?

The first 2 (maybe 3) will most likely be here before the first official sunrise flight.

I'd imagine the future planes will come at regular intervals over the course of a few years before receiving more a350 (regular) ones over the next decade.

 

[leesionn]

First PS A35K has engines installed from @euro.spot on Instagram.
Still no tail paint... maybe special livery?
Apparently the second one is already in the paint shop according to @wingsview.tls

Post link:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Account link: https://www.instagram.com/euro.spot

 

[elanshin]

First PS A35K has engines installed from @euro.spot on Instagram.
Still no tail paint... maybe special livery?
Apparently the second one is already in the paint shop according to @wingsview.tls

Post link:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Account link: https://www.instagram.com/euro.spot

View attachment 503220

Would make sense given we had a special livery for a220. Shame the 321XLR was just normal.

 

[RooFlyer]

Still no tail paint... maybe special livery?

The roo in silhouette by a sunrise?

 

[SYD]

The roo in silhouette by a sunrise?

Flying over/around a sandpit would garner a decent premium at the moment!

I suspect a few in senior management are desperately wishing they could bring forward those flights to last week!

 

[Saab34]

Looks like a further delay of around 6 months for the first aircraft

Airbus seemed to have announced this before QF, who said they had no comment when asked. Awkward.

Qantas’ Project Sunrise plane to be delayed until 2027

Airbus has confirmed that supply chain related issues will delay the delivery of the first A350-1000 ULR, built specially for Qantas, until next year.

www.smh.com.au

 

[SYD]

Looks like a further delay of around 6 months for the first aircraft

Airbus seemed to have announced this before QF, who said they had no comment when asked. Awkward.

Qantas’ Project Sunrise plane to be delayed until 2027

Airbus has confirmed that supply chain related issues will delay the delivery of the first A350-1000 ULR, built specially for Qantas, until next year.

www.smh.com.au

A bit odd that the first aircraft is in the paint shop and about to start test flights. What "supply chain" issue would delay delivery but not to fly?

 

[markis10]

Seats might be the issue

 

[RooFlyer]

And bizarrely, QAN up almost 5% in early trade.

Maybe war/fuel supply hopes strongly outweigh profit hit to a delayed Sunrise?

 

[muppet]

Seats might be the issue

Yeah this seems likely. Getting seats certified has been a drama for lots of airlines.

 

[anat0l]

Yeah this seems likely. Getting seats certified has been a drama for lots of airlines.

Why is this? Backlog? No real way to test them properly for certification?

 

[Quickstatus]

QAN up almost 5% in early trade.

Fuel price and geopolitical temperature stabilising?
VGN also up by similar %. I tried buying VGN at $2.2 but was too greedy.

 

[elanshin]

Why is this? Backlog? No real way to test them properly for certification?

Could be a mix of both certification as well as production constraints. Could explain why the 330-200 refurbishment program has gone silent as well.

 

[RooFlyer]

Fuel price and geopolitical temperature stabilising?
VGN also up by similar %. I tried buying VGN at $2.2 but was too greedy.

Seems so. Although Qantas is poorly 'hedged'#, Virgin well hedged, so shouldn't behave the same WRT spot fuel.

# Different products can be hedged, but commentary suggests that VA is better protected overall.

Shows how short-term the market is. A delay to a flagship project - meh. Fuels issue OK maybe, but we ignore hedging - .. yeah!

 

[muppet]

Why is this? Backlog? No real way to test them properly for certification?

No idea to be honest. Lufthansa was flying its new A350 and 787 for ages with empty First and half-empty business cabins. Delta just deployed an A321 with a 44 recliner domestic First Class cabin because it couldn’t get its new DeltaOne flatbed seats certified.

Pretty much anything bespoke or new to that aircraft type seems to take forever now.

 

[elanshin]

Although I would be surprised if Qantas has the same level of problem since Business, Premium and Economy should be just customised versions of off the shelf seats. Maybe its the F that's having problems? Or production constraints.

 

[mel-world]

SQ seat refurb also pushed out to sometime in '27. Maybe they are too busy to lose aircraft at the moment but some of their J product is getting very out-dated.

 

[markis10]

Although I would be surprised if Qantas has the same level of problem since Business, Premium and Economy should be just customised versions of off the shelf seats.

F, J and PE are new design seats not used elsewhere.

 

[elanshin]

F, J and PE are new design seats not used elsewhere.

J is just based on the Safron Unity seat isn't it? Whilst QF was the first customer to select it I believe, as of right now it's already flying on the JAL a350-1000. That said RX is still not flying despite multiple 787s built so there may be delays with the seat supply?

Also I just realised there isn't info on who is manufacturing the PE seats.

 

[leesionn]

I was under the impression the J was based on the same seat as JAL's A35K J (Safran Unity)?

Also I believe Airbus are now having issues with fuselages after acquiring Spirit Aerosystems' Airbus fuselage arm. Maybe the first two aircraft will be ready when initially expected, but the following few won't, and its better to take delivery of all of them in a smaller timeframe so they can minimise expenses to be strictly for certification flights and crew training? But that's just speculation.

Anyway:
Planespotter on Flickr Dan Raistrick has taken a photo of TLS:

https://flic.kr/p/2seMNYg

In the background can see first PS A35K still in primer (new test reg F-WULR) but with engines - just behind Airbus' testbed A35K F-WMIL.

Dan has also put a log into his Google Doc and it seems that F-WULR is now on the flightline area, so hopefully test flights begin soon.