Long-haul travel is one step closer, with Qantas’ Project Sunrise landing in Melbourne after its first test flight direct from France. An RMIT expert says the non-stop journeys could reshape airline competition by offering travellers a premium alternative to routes that rely on stopovers.
Justin Brownjohn, Senior Manager, RMIT Aviation Academy:
“Airlines have historically competed on network and frequency, but project Sunrise competes on time. Cutting up to four hours off the journey from Sydney to London and removing the connection entirely is a different product, not an improved version of the existing one.
“The strongest demand comes from business and premium leisure passengers who value the hours saved enough to justify a fare premium. This is where airline margins live.
“These services won’t replace one-stop flying, they’ll sit alongside it. The Australia-Europe market will always carry far more passengers on one-stop flights than direct. Choice is the product and it’s excellent marketing.
“The competitive consequences matter more. Direct east coast services erode the reason Middle Eastern and Asian hubs feature on these routes – the stopover. As aircraft range improves and fuel-use falls, more non-stop routes become more viable.
“Qantas’s research has shaped features such as circadian lighting, a wellbeing zone and destination-timed menus. Twenty hours is not a longer flight, it is a different physiological event. On this flight comfort has stopped being a luxury feature and become the thing being sold.”
Justin Brownjohn is the Senior Manager of the RMIT University Aviation Academy. He has over 20 years of aviation industry experience across Australia, Asia and the Middle East with a focus on network operations delivery and commercial decision making.
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