Overview
- The A350-1000ULR prototype MSN 707 flew for three hours and 43 minutes from Toulouse on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, reaching just above 41,000 feet while flight-test crews checked performance and the modified fuel architecture.
- That maiden sortie launches a planned certification programme of around 80 flight hours over roughly two months to approve the rear centre tank, revised fuel system, galley air-cooling and cabin environmental controls needed for ultra-long sectors.
- The ULR’s extra range comes from an integrated rear centre tank holding about 20,000 litres of fuel, which adds roughly 1,000 nautical miles and underpins the aircraft’s ability to fly up to about 22 hours non-stop.
- Airbus says a second ULR is in advanced final assembly and will be the first delivered to Qantas, but supply-chain disruptions have pushed the airline’s first handover to April 2027 and Qantas will announce initial routes and timings later this month.
- Project Sunrise, launched in 2017 with 12 firm ULR orders, aims to offer low-density, four-class A350 service for nonstop east-coast Australia to London or New York flights and will require crew training, regulatory approval and passenger-wellbeing measures before commercial launch.