Sleep and light: The science behind Qantas’ bet on 20-hour flights

TOULOUSE, France – Qantas Airways is betting that science can make the world’s longest flights feel less punishing – unveiling plans for a “wellness zone”, extra legroom, specially timed meals and animated lighting on its non-stop Sydney-London services due to launch in October 2027.

The Australian carrier, which plans to follow up with non-stop flights from Sydney to New York, this week offered detailed briefings on the science of roughly 20-hour journeys as it looks to convince passengers to pay a premium for avoiding a stopover.

“It’s a major biological challenge crossing all these time zones - seven to nine for London and 14 to 16 for New York,” said Peter Cistulli, professor of sleep medicine at the University of Sydney, who took part in scientific research for “Project Sunrise”.

Frequent long-haul Australian travellers told Reuters their biggest priorities when deciding whether they would take the ultra-long flights included seat comfort, the ability to move around and cost.

Qantas has gone beyond that, studying every detail for the flights on Airbus A350-1000ULR planes since the project was launched nearly a decade ago, from nutrition to ergonomics, movement and above all light – a vital cue for the body clock.

By optimising meal times – such as avoiding food just after takeoff – and creating a “protective sleep window” with the help of lighting, passengers showed better alertness during tests than with a traditional service, Cistulli said.

Cabin designer David Caon said he had been asked to approach it as a health and scientific task as much as an aesthetic one.

“When you have a passenger for essentially a whole day, it really does drive a whole set of new decisions,” he said.

Caon toyed with novel ideas, including exercise bikes and yoga mats. Those did not make the cut, but a dedicated “wellness zone” remained, bathed in diffused, shimmering light.

“I wanted to recreate the sense of lying by the swimming pool,” Caon told reporters.

Elsewhere in the cabin, custom mood lighting will simulate sunrise or sunset, moving from front to back. It took weeks to programme 14 light “scenarios” inspired by Australia’s scenery.

All of this aims to reduce the discomfort of flights that could be as long as 22 hours on such specially modified jets.

But the sense of space also has a business aim: to turn Australia’s remote position into a travel experience that other airlines cannot easily match – and generate 20 per cent more revenue.

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the expected premium over one-stop flights was based on results seen between Perth and Europe. Most analysts say the performance of its 17-hour Perth-London flights bodes well for the Project Sunrise business case.

Qantas has designed the plane in a premium-heavy configuration as it will need to squeeze all the profit out of just 238 passengers due to weight restrictions. It may have to block some seats to save fuel when weather dictates.

A senior airline industry executive said other operating risks would include costly diversions, given the long routes.

Sam Davies, who works in the drinks marketing industry, said he already uses the Perth flights on his way to Sydney from his home in Paris and would look at the non-stop option.

“There is something wonderful about waking up in Australia and not having to get off anywhere and go through security and kill three hours, so I am all up for it,” he said.

But comfort would be decisive.

“I am six-foot-four (193 cm) so the economy seat is too small...I would have to ask for some more details on the seats,” Davies added.

Qantas said the regular economy pitch, or distance between seats, would be 84cm, though some rows would be slightly tighter at 81cm and this would be made clear when booking. Part of the cabin will be sold as “Economy Plus,” offering 86cm of legroom.

At the front of the aircraft, Qantas is the latest airline to install enclosed first-class suites with a fixed bed.

Melbourne-based business executive Ian Morden said he was not put off by ultra-long flights, as he likes to use the time to work and think.

But he questioned how much the four-hour time savings from avoiding a stopover would justify the fares that the airline’s business case demands.

“A slight premium would be justifiable but...I probably wouldn’t choose it for a 20 per cent premium on an already much more expensive business-class flight,” he said.

London-based Nathalie Curtis, who travels extensively for her work in the international cultural sector, said she would take the flight if it lived up to the airline’s marketing, but expressed concerns about the deterioration of cabins on very long flights.

“If it allows you to move around, reduce jet lag with lighting adjustment and is hygienic and saves ... four hours then I would go for it and pay a 20 per cent premium,” she said.

Mark Levine, an Australian strategic adviser in New York, said direct flights from Sydney would take the organisational friction out of lives spread between different continents.

“The distance doesn’t change but the journey feels a little smaller,” he said. REUTERS