I’m Skeptical: Qantas Wants To Fly Nonstop To Miami (Eventually)

We know that Qantas has plans to operate some of the world's longest flights, but here's a route I wasn't expecting to see...

Qantas reveals more “Project Sunrise” A350 routes

Qantas placed an order for 12 A350-1000s, which will be used for its "Project Sunrise" flights. Qantas wants to fly nonstop from Australia to New York and London, but no commercial aircraft are able to do that.

The modification of the A350 will make it capable of operating these missions. Qantas wants to start these flights by the end of the century. A new first class product will be included in the plane's 238 seats.

Qantas has other destinations in mind as well and intends to launch these four routes. During an interview with The Sunday Times, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce revealed some possible routes the airline is considering.

I will list the distances from the two Australian airports to the foreign airport.

• New York (JFK) — 9,950-10,374 miles
• London (LHR) — 10,503-10,573 miles
• Paris (CDG) — 10,410-10,527 miles
• Frankfurt (FRA) — 10,132-10,248 miles
• Miami (MIA) — 9,336-9,691 miles
• Chicago (ORD) — 9,232-9,663 miles
• Cape Town (CPT) — 6,416-6,842 miles
• Sao Paulo (GRU) — 8,163-8,318 miles

There are a few important things to keep in mind.

• All of these routes can’t be operated by 12 A350-1000s, so I think this is more of a wish list, rather than a concrete plan
• None of these routes are happening anytime soon, as Qantas will only get its first A350-1000 in late 2025 at the earliest, and it’ll take years till the airline has all 12 planes
• Qantas executives are notorious for claiming to be seriously considering routes that never come to fruition; that’s especially true when you consider that Qantas isn’t exactly an airline that’s expanding fast
• Some of these routes wouldn’t need to be operated by A350s; the Sao Paulo and Cape Town routes are easily within range for the 787, while the Chicago route is right at the cusp

Could Qantas really fly from Australia to Miami?!

Most of the routes are similar to what you would expect from Qantas, with planes that can operate longer routes. Did you mean Cape Town and Sao Paolo? The airline has enough planes. Are you talking about Chicago? Qantas was going to start flying fromBrisbane around the start of the Pandemic, but that has been scrapped. Do you mean Paris and Frankfurt? Qantas has flown to those destinations before.

Is it also Miami? I have never heard of a Qantas executive mentioning that. Usually Seattle is the city in the US that gets thrown around as being at the top of Qantas' list, so Miami caught me off guard.

As a Miami resident, I would love to see a Qantas A350 flying over my house, ready to start the 20 hour journey to Australia. Is there any chance this will happen? There are a few things to think about.

• Miami is a major American Airlines hub, so the route would have that going for it, given that the two airlines have a transpacific joint venture
• The flights would be very similar in length to any Chicago service, and shorter than New York service
• Australia to South Florida doesn’t seem like a huge market to me; I mean, I suppose some Australians may be looking to go on cruises, but that’s not exactly the high-yield traffic that makes routes like this sustainable
• This would be convenient for any connections to the Caribbean, though the Australia to Caribbean market isn’t huge
• There’s a portion of the southeast that could efficiently be connected through Miami, though I’m not sure there are many connecting markets where Miami would be more efficient than Qantas’ existing flights to Dallas

I could be wrong but I don't think this route will become a reality. I don't think Qantas just announces a lot of theoretical routes in order to get publicity.

Executives at other airlines don't talk about routes they plan to launch years down the road, yet it's something Qantas does consistently, even though more often than not the routes don't happen

I think it's not a bad strategy. If nothing else, this will give Qantas free PR for its "Project Sunrise" concept.

Bottom line

Some of the world's longest flights will be operated by Qantas using A350-1000s as part of the airline's "Project Sunrise" plans. Most of the destinations beyond London and New York are what you would expect.

There is a chance that a flight from Australia to Miami could happen. It is highly unlikely that that will become a reality. I would like to be proven wrong.

Is it possible for Qantas to launch a flight to Miami?

There is a tip to Simon.