Qantas’ first Airbus A321XLR is part of the way through a roughly 10,600-mile-long journey from Europe to Australia, and is set to break a flight record in the process.
The aircraft, registered as VH-OGA, departed Airbus’ facility in Hamburg, Germany, this morning and will make its first stop in Bangkok, a distance of over 9,600 kilometers, or almost 6,000 miles, and a record for the longest A321XLR flight operated by a commercial airline. From Bangkok, the airplane will fly 7,600 kilometers, or roughly 4,700 miles, to Sydney and is expected to arrive on July 2.
The journey from Hamburg to Sydney will take 42 hours in total, with 21 hours of flying time, Qantas officials said.
The airline plans to use the A321XLR to support domestic routes within Australia, and may look at using them on flights to Asia in the future.
Qantas had ordered 40 A321XLRs in total as part of its fleet modernization effort, with 28 intended for Qantas and 12 for its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar.
