Airbus recently announced that the company’s A350-1000ULR (Ultra-Long Range) has officially broken the Guinness World Record for the longest flight by distance by a commercial airliner.

The record was based on aircraft data independently validated by the International Aeronautical Federation and flightradar24.

The Airbus-operated flight—with call-sign AIB35LR—departed Melbourne, Australia at 17.27 local time (06.27 UTC) on Monday 27 July and landed in Toulouse, France at 09.51 am local time (07.51 UTC) on Tuesday, July 28.

The flight covered a distance of 12,503 nautical miles, with a flight time of 24 hours and 24 minutes. 

The mission was undertaken as part of the flight test campaign for the A350-1000ULR, which is being developed for Qantas Airways under Project Sunrise. This included a requirement for Airbus to operate one sector with a block time of 23 hours to simulate the very longest commercial operations that will be possible with the aircraft. 

After take-off from Melbourne the aircraft flew over Sydney before heading out over the Pacific on a north-easterly routing towards Los Angeles, crossing the international date line en route.

It then flew across the North American continent and over the Atlantic before heading south towards the UK, flying over London and on to Toulouse. As the aircraft crossed three continents and two oceans, the crew witnessed two sunsets and two sunrises.

A total of 13 people were on board the aircraft. These included:

• Three Airbus flight test pilots
• Two pilots from Qantas
• Five Airbus flight test engineers
• Two Airbus design engineers
• International Aeronautical Federation representative

The A350-1000ULR is the fourth passenger variant of the best-selling A350 Family, joining:

• A350-900
• A350-900ULR
• A350-1000

The passenger line-up will soon be joined by the all-new A350F freighter, also currently under development at Airbus, with first flight planned later this year.

The A350-1000ULR will enable Qantas Airways to operate non-stop flights between Sydney and London and New York for the first time ever—a distance of almost 10,000 nautical miles—with flight times of up to 22 hours.

This is made possible primarily by the integration into the aircraft structure of an additional rear centre tank (RCT), enhancing further the aircraft performance and increasing the range of the aircraft by 1,000 nautical miles.

Airbus Chief Executive Officer Commercial Aircraft Lars Wagner said, "This achievement reflects the pioneering and innovative spirit that is part of our DNA at Airbus.”

Wagner continued, “In responding to the challenge laid down by Qantas, our teams came together to extend the range of the A350-1000 in an efficient and economically viable way to undertake the world's longest ever commercial flights.”

“Flying 12,503 nautical miles non-stop, we have fully proven the aircraft's capability to fulfill its mission. And the world record was the icing on the cake!” added Wagner.

He noted, “Huge congratulations to all the teams at Airbus who have made this project a reality. And thank you to Qantas for an incredible partnership that has seen us push boundaries together, to Rolls-Royce for its full support and to all our partners who have contributed to this exciting moment in aviation history.”