Kangaroo Route#N#Project Sunrise

File:Qantas Empire Airways Kangaroo Service logo 1944–1947.jpg

Qantas operated the Australian part of the Kangaroo Route for nine years before coining (and later trademarking) the name.

After starting airmail operations between Brisbane and Singapore in 1934,{{Cite news |date=1947-05-30 |title=QANTAS EMPIRE AIRWAYS CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY. |work=Cloncurry Advocate |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article170146987 |access-date=2023-03-14}} Qantas began operating passenger flights connecting Brisbane to Singapore in 1935 following successful awarding of the Australian government's tender.{{Cite book |last=Gunn |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dO_z29s9YigC&pg=PA190 |title=The Defeat of Distance: Qantas 1919-1939 |date=1985 |publisher=john gunn |isbn=978-0-7022-1707-4 |pages=190 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nh4uAQAAIAAJ&q=sydney-london+kangaroo+route+since+its+inception+in+1934 |title=Australian Aviation Annual |date=1949 |editor-last=Brogden |editor-first=Stanley |pages=59 |language=en}}

After disruption to the route due to the emerging hostilities of World War II, the connectivity was famously restored by Qantas with its "Double Sunrise" service connectivity between Perth and Ceylon on the Indian Ocean Route with Catalina flying boats in 1943.{{Cite news |last=Crouch |first=Wallace |date=2 July 1976 |title=None of their aircraft was missing |pages=7 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=lL5f5cZgq8MC&dat=19760702&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=14 March 2023}} With the addition of the land based Liberator aircraft to the route in 1944, the "Indian Ocean Route" was officially renamed "The Kangaroo Service"{{Cite web |orig-date=8 Oct 2014 |title=Qantas to Celebrate Kangaroo Logo Anniversary with Retro Livery |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-to-celebrate-kangaroo-logo-anniversary-with-retro-livery/ |access-date=14 Mar 2023 |website=Qantas}}{{Cite news |date=1945-06-25 |title=Kangaroo Service |work=Daily News |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78789473 |access-date=2023-03-14}}{{Cite web |date=1 Oct 2016 |title=96 Years in the making, Qantas Livery throughout the ages |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/History-Qantas-Tales-Face-Sheet.pdf |access-date=14 March 2023 |website=Qantas}} by Qantas' Managing Director Hudson Fysh and pilot Bill Crowther; a play on words of the aviation term "hop" (referring to a leg of a route), and the hop of a kangaroo, an Australian icon.{{Cite web |last=Eames |first=Jim |date=2017-12-14 |title=Double sunrise: How Qantas preserved vital link to Britain during World War II |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/double-sunrise-how-qantas-preserved-vital-link-to-britain-during-world-war-ii-20171206-gzzmzb.html |access-date=2023-03-14 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

Along with the newly created Qantas logo of the flying kangaroo, the terms "Kangaroo Service" and "Kangaroo Route"{{Cite news |date=1944-08-07 |title=WORLD'S LONGEST AIR HOP TO BE "KANGAROO SERVICE" |work=Argus |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11355425 |access-date=2023-03-13}}{{Cite web |title=QANTAS Airways Ltd v Danniel Amadio [2011] ATMO 84 - BarNet Jade |url=https://jade.io/article/592280 |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=jade.io}}{{Cite news |date=1944-08-07 |title=NON-STOP AIR SERVICE |work=Daily Commercial News and Shipping List |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162868143 |access-date=2023-03-13}}{{Cite web |date=16 Nov 1950 |title=Thirty Years of Qantas |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1950/1950%20-%201946.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307022943/https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1950/1950%20-%201946.html |archive-date=7 March 2018 |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=Flightglobal |page=437}} were trademarked by Qantas and became the airline's branded term to describe Qantas' Australia-United Kingdom connectivity.{{Cite book |last=Gunn |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnSm-oOCr5AC&pg=PA143 |title=Challenging Horizons: Qantas 1939-1954 |date=1987 |publisher=john gunn |isbn=978-0-7022-2017-3 |pages=143 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=1944-09-19 |title=SYDNEY-LONDON IN 72 HOURS |work=Advocate |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91750796 |access-date=2023-03-13}}

A significant milestone in 1947 when Qantas began operating the entire Kangaroo Route independently.  This April 1947 inauguration is referred to as the birth date of the Kangaroo Route by Qantas, even though it had been operating a part of that route for almost a decade.{{Citation |title=The Longest Hop - Qantas' Kangaroo Route |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZZQhXznH4k |access-date=2023-03-13 |language=en}}

File:Map_of_the_London-Adelaide_flight,_England-Australia_air_race,_1919.jpg and finishing in Adelaide (1919)]]

File:Brisbane-Singapore air service (DH 86) advertisement, ca. 1935 - H.B. Green and Co. (3532443184).jpg Singapore service using the De Havilland 86]]

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|Description = A QEA De Havilland 86 at Mt. Isa, operating the Kangaroo Route circa 1937.

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File:Empire_flying_boat_'Cooee',_operated_by_QANTAS,_circling_over_Brisbane,_1938.jpg

In 1935 Qantas started flying passengers to Singapore in a De Havilland 86 to connect with London-bound Imperial Airways. London to Brisbane service commenced on 13 April 1935. Imperial Airways and Qantas Empire Airways opened the {{convert|12,754|mi|km|adj=on}} London to Brisbane route for passengers for a single fare £195 ({{Inflation|AU|195*2|1935|r=-2|fmt=eq}}). There were no through bookings on the first service because of heavy sector bookings, but there were two through passengers on the next flight that left London on 20 April. The route opened for passengers from Brisbane to London on 17 April; flights were weekly and the journey time was 12{{frac|1|2}} days.{{cite web|url=https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/history-and-heritage/explore-our-past/1930-1939|title=Explore our past: 1930 – 1939|publisher=British Airways|access-date=28 November 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/history-flying-overseas/global/en |title=Venturing Overseas |publisher=Qantas.com.au |access-date=24 October 2012}}

Eastbound passengers from London would first fly from Croydon to Paris, take an overnight train to Brindisi, and fly onward with stops at Athens, Alexandria (overnight), Gaza, Baghdad (overnight), Basra, Kuwait, Bahrain, Sharjah (overnight), Gwadar, Karachi, Jodhpur (overnight), Delhi, Cawnpore, Allahabad, Calcutta (overnight), Akyab, Rangoon, Bangkok (overnight), Alor Star, Singapore (overnight), Batavia, Sourabaya, Rambang (overnight), Koepang, Darwin (overnight), Longreach (overnight), and Charleville.{{Cite web|title=Imperial Airways timetable, 1935|url=http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/iaw35aus/iaw35u-2.jpg|access-date=2020-08-27|website=Timetable Images}} London-Karachi was operated by Imperial Airways, Karachi-Singapore jointly by Imperial and Indian Trans-Continental Airways, and Singapore-Brisbane by Qantas.{{Cite web|title=Imperial Airways route map, 1935|url=http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/iaw35aus/iaw35u-3.jpg|access-date=2020-08-27|website=Timetable Images}}

On 11 June 1940 Italy entered WWII and the Kangaroo Route connection across the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt was severed with the resulting loss of all access to commercial air routes.{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=Captain Dacre |title=British Overseas Airways Corporation 1940-1950 and It's Legacy |url=https://www.aerosociety.com/media/4844/british-overseas-airways-corporation-1940-1950-and-its-legacy.pdf |journal=Journal of Aeronautical History |volume=2013/03 |pages=144}}{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=John |date=February 2009 |title=Report on the Progress of Civil Aviation 1939-1945 |url=https://www.gbps.org.uk/information/sources/miscellaneous/Report%20on%20the%20Progress%20of%20Civil%20Aviation%201939-1945%20-%20John%20Wilson.pdf |access-date=13 Oct 2023 |website=The Great Britain Philatelic Society}} While direct passenger air connectivity was lost, previous contingency plans were put into action, utilising the structure of the "Horseshoe Route" that connected Australia and England for passengers and airmail via Durban, South Africa where passengers would connect to steamboat service.{{Cite book |last=Madden |first=Phillip |url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/375758/Madden,%20Phillip_Final%20Thesis_Redacted.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 |title=The Flying Boat Era: Its Role as a Catalyst in the Development of Aviation and Social History in Australia |publisher=Griffith University |year=2018 |pages=80–81}}{{Cite news |date=1940-06-13 |title=EMPIRE AIR SERVICES. |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17694673 |access-date=2023-10-17}} This service was swiftly started just 8 days later with the first flight leaving Australia on 19 June 1940{{Cite news |date=1940-06-19 |title=Empire Air Line Change |work=Daily Telegraph |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247771852 |access-date=2023-10-17}} and continuing its operation, modifying as necessary until its final reserve route ("Reserve Route 3") via Broome was lost on 15 February 1942 with the fall of Singapore.{{Cite web |title=End of Horseshoe Route |url=http://www.nzstamps.org.uk/air/teal/end_hshoe.html |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=www.nzstamps.org.uk}}

Plans for restoration of the connectivity were started in early 1943, resulting in the ideation, equipping, and successful testing of what would become the Double Sunrise service. Earlier in 1939 an alternative route via the Indian Ocean was proposed and designed by the Australian Government for potential use in case of emergency.{{Cite news |date=1939 |title=Australia aka Guba Flying Boat Flight |work=Pathé Gazette (British Pathé) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLufzm6fJOI |access-date=13 October 2023}} The designed route was Port Hedland - Batavia - Christmas Island - Cocos Island - Diego Garcia - The Seychelles - Mombasa. This route was surveyed and tested in June 1939 but would ultimately not be used, in part as Batavia had already fallen in March 1942 in the Battle of Java (1942).{{cite web |title=BOAC General Reports on Services 1941-1945 |url=https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/AMIL-BOAC-Gen-reports-services.pdf |access-date=13 Oct 2023 |website=Air-Britain.com}}

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|Description = The QEA Catalina G-AGFL "Altair Star" flying along the coast of Ceylon at the conclusion of a 'Double Sunrise' flight from Australia which operated from July 1943-July 1945.

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{{see also|The Double Sunrise}}

On 29 July 1943 Qantas resumed the kangaroo route's modified operation, using a fleet of 5 Consolidated PBY Catalina aircraft to cross the Indian ocean nonstop. The planned route was for flights between Crawley, Western Australia, and RAF Base Koggala in southern Ceylon. Designed to exploit the Catalina's extreme flight range, the flights became the longest non-stop commercial air route, covering over 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 kilometres; 4,000 miles) across the Indian Ocean. Navigated without the aid of radio, the crews relied solely on rudimentary navigation by compass and stars during the trip. Taking between 27 and 33 hours, with departure timed so that the flight crossed Japanese occupied territory during darkness, the crew and passengers would observe the sunrise twice, which led to the service being known as "The Double Sunrise".{{cite web |last=Senior |first=Rex |title=The Double Sunrise Service |url=http://britishfortress.com/download/Double_Sunrise_service_docx_Compatibility_Mode.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413141247/http://britishfortress.com/download/Double_Sunrise_service_docx_Compatibility_Mode.pdf |archive-date=13 April 2014 |accessdate=2 October 2023}} The Double Sunrise flights remain the longest (in terms of airtime) commercial flights in history.

Initially, passengers and mail were then transferred via ground transport from Galle to Karachi connecting with BOAC service onwards to London. In November 1943, this was replaced by adding an additional hop to the kangaroo route operated by the Qantas Catalinas up the Indian coast to Karangi Creek in Karachi.

File:Qantas Kangaroo Service Liberator refuelling at Learmonth Airport, ca. 1945 (AGKT).jpg

In June 1944, Qantas augmented the Kangaroo Route's Catalina service with an additional route operated by converted Consolidated Liberator bombers. The Liberators flew from Perth to Learmonth before flying a shorter 3,077 mi (4,952 km) over-water route to an airfield northeast of Colombo, but they could make the journey in 17 hours with 5,500 pounds (2,500 kg) of payload, whereas the Catalinas usually required at least 27 hours and their payload was limited to only 1,000 pounds (450 kg). This route was named 'The Kangaroo Service' and was the genesis for the Kangaroo Route's naming. It also marked the first time that Qantas's now-famous Kangaroo logo was used; passengers received a certificate proclaiming them as members of [https://aviadejavu.ru/Images6/HI/HI-28/51-1.jpg The Order of the Longest Hop].{{Cite web |title=Front Line Airline 1939-1945 |url=https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us/our-company/our-history/front-line-airline-1939-1945.html |access-date=17 Oct 2023 |website=Qantas.com}}

In June 1945, Avro Lancastrians were introduced on the England–Australia service, and the Liberators and Catalinas were soon shifted to other Qantas routes. The Catalina operated Double Sunrise service ended on 18 July 1945.{{Cite news |date=1945-08-25 |title=NEWS OF THE DAY |work=Age |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204022046 |access-date=2023-10-17}}

On 30 May 1945, following the end of the war in the European Theatre, Lancastrian operated flights by BOAC resumed from Hurn Airport in southern England, connecting in Karachi to Qantas' operated service which flew via Karachi - Minneriya (Ceylon) - Learmonth to Sydney.{{Cite news |date=1945-11-30 |title=COLOMBO AIR SERVICE |work=Advocate |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69101785 |access-date=2023-10-17}} Covering the Kangaroo Route in a scheduled time of 70 hours.{{Cite news |date=1945-06-02 |title=From London By Air In 70 Hours |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27936594 |access-date=2023-10-17}}

On 7 April 1946 - Qantas ended its Indian Ocean Service, and reverted the Kangaroo Route back via Darwin and Singapore.{{Cite news |date=1946-04-08 |title=To Singapore By Air - Service Resumed |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17975101 |access-date=2023-10-17}} For the first time flying directly from Sydney to Darwin to Singapore, eliminating all previous domestic Australian stops.{{Cite news |date=1946-02-19 |title=DARWIN BACK AS AIR GATEWAY |work=Courier-Mail |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50263539 |access-date=2023-10-17}} BOAC and Qantas service combined to operate the Kangaroo Route from Sydney to London time in a new record of 63 hours.{{Cite news |date=1946-04-04 |title=Singapore Air Route Reopened |work=Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140618959 |access-date=2023-10-17}}

File:Lockheed_L1049_VH-EAK_Qantas_LAP_04.06.55_edited-2.jpg

File:G-APDC DH106 Comet 4 and Qantas 707 LHR 02SEP63.jpg behind a De Havilland Comet of British Overseas Airways Corporation at Heathrow in 1963]]

In 1947, Qantas took over complete operation of the route from Australia to The United Kingdom utilizing their new Lockheed Constellations. BOAC would continue to run its own service in parallel. Qantas first flew the Kangaroo Route on 1 December 1947. A Lockheed Constellation carried 29 passengers and 11 crew from Sydney to London with stops in Darwin, Singapore, Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo, and Tripoli (passengers stayed overnight in Singapore and Cairo).{{Cite news |date=1947-12-08 |title=New Sydney-London Link Completed By Constellation |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18052741 |access-date=2023-10-17}} A return fare was £585 ({{Inflation|AU|585*2|1947|r=-2|fmt=eq}}), equivalent to 130 weeks average pay.{{cite news | last = Creedy | first = Steve | title = Qantas' Kangaroo route 60th birthday | publisher = news.com.au | date = 30 November 2007 | url = http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,22847036-5014090,00.html | access-date = 10 January 2008 | archive-date = 1 December 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071201223903/http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,22847036-5014090,00.html | url-status = dead }}

In the 1950s and 1960s some Qantas Kangaroo Routes featured other stops, including Frankfurt, Zürich, Rome, Athens, Beirut, Tehran, Bombay, and Colombo.{{cite web|url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/264566/1955-qantas-network|title=1955: QANTAS Network}}{{Cite web |date=1 Jun 1961 |title=Qantas Timetable (effective 1 June 1961) |url=http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/qf/qf6106/qf616-03.jpg |access-date=20 Mar 2023 |website=Timetable Images}} In May 1958 the Kangaroo Route had 11 westward flights a week: four Qantas Super Constellations, four BOAC Britannias, and one Air India Super Constellation from Sydney to London, one KLM Super Constellation Sydney to Amsterdam, and one TAI Douglas DC-6B Auckland to Paris. In February 1959 Qantas' fastest Super Constellation took 63 hr 45 min Sydney to Heathrow and BOAC's Britannia took 49 hr 25 min. Jet flights (Qantas with Boeing 707) started in 1959; in April 1960 the fastest trip from Sydney to London was 34 hr 30 min with eight stops.

In the late 1950s, Qantas had a round-the-world network, flying Australia to Europe westward on the Kangaroo Route and eastward on the Southern Cross Route (via the Pacific Ocean). In 1964 Qantas started a third route to London via Tahiti, Mexico, and the Caribbean, called the Fiesta Route.{{cite web|title=1974: QANTAS Network|url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/261609/1974-qantas-network/}} Qantas dropped its Southern Cross Route and Fiesta Route in 1975. By 1969, Qantas had 11 Kangaroo Route flights a week from Sydney to London, taking 29–32 hours with 5–6 stops each; BOAC's 7-9 weekly flights previously had 7 stops.

In 1971 Qantas added Boeing 747s, reducing the travel time and number of stops (in the late 1970s flights typically stopped at Singapore and Bahrain). Fares fell, opening air travel to more people with more competition.

File:Qantas b747 over houses arp.jpg overflying Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow on final approach to Heathrow]]

File:VH-OQF A380 Qantas (6058867734).jpg at Heathrow]]

In April 1974 Qantas commenced operating a one stop service from Perth to London with only one stop in Bombay with Boeing 707s.One stop to London Freight & Container Transportation April 1974 page 3{{Cite book |last=Transport |first=Australia Dept of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5IiAQAAMAAJ&q=Sydney+/+Perth+/+Bombay |title=Australian Transport |publisher=Australian Government Pub. Service. |year= 1973|pages=28 |language=en}}

In 1989 Qantas set a world distance record for commercial jets when a Boeing 747-400, the City of Canberra (VH-OJA), flew non-stop from London to Sydney in just over 20 hours (with special fuel{{Cite news|date=2019-08-16|title=Top-secret London-to-Sydney flight broke a record and made aviation history|language=en-AU|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-17/30-years-since-qantas-top-secret-london-to-sydney-flight/11413346|access-date=2022-01-19}} and without passengers or cargo). This was the only nonstop flight ever made between both cities for the next 3 decades.{{cite web| url = http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/history-boeing/global/en | title = Boeing Aircraft Take Qantas Further | publisher = Qantas Airways Limited | access-date = 30 October 2012 }}

Starting in January 2009, Qantas began utilising its new A380 aircraft on the Kangaroo Route, raising its capacity to 450 passengers per flight.{{Cite news |date=16 Jan 2009 |title=Qantas Commences A380 Services to Singapore and the UK |url=https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us/news-room/news-room-archives.html?archive=jan-2009/3874 |access-date=29 Feb 2024 |work=Qantas News Room}}

As part of a partnership approved in 2013 with Emirates, Qantas announced that its services to London would stop in Dubai rather than Singapore, beginning that same year.{{cite web | url = http://www.qantasandemirates.com/pages.html#asia | title = QANTAS and Emirates | publisher = QANTAS | access-date = 9 September 2012 | quote = Our Asian services will no longer be a subsidiary of the 'Kangaroo Route', they will be dedicated to connecting Australians with our region, and Asian visitors to Australia. | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130118210222/http://www.qantasandemirates.com/pages.html#asia | archive-date = 18 January 2013 | url-status = dead }} Qantas also announced that its services to Frankfurt via Singapore would be discontinued in April 2013, leaving London as its only European destination.{{cite news | url=https://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-bids-farewell-to-frankfurt | title=Qantas bids farewell to Frankfurt | publisher=Australian Business Traveller | first=David | last=Flynn | date=17 April 2013 | access-date=26 March 2018 }}

In 2017, Qantas announced a renewal of this partnership for another 5 years with the modification of the Qantas' Kangaroo Route reverting to operating with a stopover in Singapore instead of Dubai from 25 March 2018.{{Cite news |date=31 Aug 2017 |title=QANTAS AND EMIRATES TO EXTEND PARTNERSHIP |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-and-emirates-to-extend-partnership/ |access-date=29 Feb 2024 |work=Qantas News Room}}{{Cite news |date=1 Sep 2017 |title=Qantas Reroutes London Flights Through Singapore |url=https://www.qantas.com/travelinsider/en/trending/qantas-reroutes-london-flights-through-singapore.html |access-date=29 Feb 2024 |work=Qantas Travel Insider}}

File:Airbus A350 1041 MSN 59 F-WMIL at Paris Air Show June 2019 (5).jpg for non-stop flights]]

Non-stop flights from Perth to London commenced in March 2018 with Boeing 787s,{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Ellis|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/qantas-hails-successful-first-year-of-perth-london-f-456896/|title=Qantas hails successful first year of Perth-London flights|work=flightglobal.com|date=26 March 2019|access-date=1 October 2019}} with the Kangaroo route becoming a non-stop route for the first time, while also connecting Australia and Europe via a non-stop route for the first time. These flights operate out of Perth's Terminal 3 rather than the traditional T1 in order to facilitate seamless transfers from Qantas domestic flights. The route also opens up the possibility of further direct flights to Europe from Perth such as Rome (launched June 2022){{Cite news |date=June 25, 2022 |title=QANTAS FLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIA DIRECT TO ROME TAKE OFF |work=Qantas |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-flights-from-australia-direct-to-rome-take-off/ |access-date=Nov 25, 2022}} and Paris (launched July 2024).{{Cite web |date=2024-07-03 |title=What to expect from Qantas' non-stop flights to Paris - Executive Traveller |url=https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qantas-sydney-perth-paris-flights |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=www.executivetraveller.com |language=en}}

In late March 2020, prior to Qantas cutting all international services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several repatriation flights were operated with a routing of Sydney-Darwin-London.{{Cite news |date=25 Mar 2020 |title=Qantas to fly first non-stop route from Darwin to Heathrow to return stranded Brits to UK amid coronavirus crisis |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-03-25/coronavirus-qantas-to-operate-first-non-stop-flight-from-darwin-to-heathrow |access-date=29 Feb 2024 |work=ITV News}} The Singaporean government had banned transit passengers and airspace in the Middle East was closed, due to the pandemic. This was the first time an Airbus A380 flew nonstop between Australia and Europe.{{Cite web |last=O'Hare |first=Maureen |date=2020-03-25 |title=Qantas A380 makes historic direct flight from Australia to London |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/qantas-a380-nonstop-australia-london/index.html |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}

In November 2021, Qantas resumed non-stop Kangaroo Route flights, this time from Darwin to London{{Cite news |date=Oct 8, 2021 |title=QANTAS TO FLY KANGAROO ROUTE TO LONDON VIA DARWIN |work=Qantas.com |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-flights-from-australia-direct-to-rome-take-off/ |access-date=Nov 25, 2022}} before resuming the non-stop route between Perth and London in May 2022 following the reopening of Western Australia for international travel.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-04 |title=Qantas to resume Perth-London flights on May 23 - Executive Traveller |url=https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/qantas-restarts-perth-london-flights |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.executivetraveller.com |language=en}}

Since its founding in 1935, Qantas has evolved the Kangaroo Route over time in terms of "hops" (routings), duration, and aircraft used. Illustrated in the below table are snapshots of that ongoing evolution over the years.

Note: {{note|noteA||Duration is total elapsed travel time westbound (including stops)}}

While "The Kangaroo Route™ " is a trademarked term belonging to Qantas, it is often genericized by the media, other operators, and even Qantas themselves to refer to all flights between Australia and the United Kingdom.

Today Qantas remains the sole operator of "The Kangaroo Route" as well as the only nonstop flight between Australia and the United Kingdom. British Airways continues to operate its legacy route it has served since 1935 when it was Imperial Airways,{{Cite web |last=LondonAirTravel |date=2019-08-09 |title=A History Of Imperial Airways, BOAC And British Airways In Australia |url=https://londonairtravel.com/2019/08/09/british-airways-100-years-australia/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=London Air Travel |language=en-US}} offering the only other direct flight from Australia to the United Kingdom.

Forming a competitive market, there are over 20 airlines operating competing one-stop flights from Australia to the United Kingdom via the Eastern Hemisphere as seen in the table below:{{Table alignment}}

On 25 August 2017, Qantas announced Project Sunrise, aiming to fly non-stop from the East Coast of Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane) to London, Paris, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and New York City by 2022, and challenged Boeing and Airbus to create aircraft that can travel to such places without stopping.{{cite web | url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Project-Sunrise-Fact-Sheet.pdf | title=New opportunities for direct routes | date=25 August 2017 | publisher=Qantas | access-date=26 March 2018 }} Both Boeing and Airbus submitted proposals in 2019. Boeing announced some delays in the 777-8X project in August 2019 after Etihad Airways dropped orders made in 2013, but the company made it clear that it remained in contention for Project Sunrise.{{cite news |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-aims-to-remain-in-qantas-project-sunrise-co-460294/ |title= Boeing aims to remain in Qantas 'Project Sunrise' contest |date= 15 Aug 2019 |first=David |last=Kaminski-Morrow |publisher= Flightglobal}}

On 18–20 October 2019, Qantas made a 19-hour test flight QF7879 with a Boeing 787-9 from New York to Sydney.{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/qantas-19-hour-flights-test-scli-intl/index.html/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822175515/https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/qantas-19-hour-flights-test-scli-intl/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 August 2019 |title= Qantas 19 hour test flight |date= 19 October 2019 }} The next month, Qantas operated its first 19-20 hour test flight from London to Sydney using again a Boeing 787-9.{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/qantas-test-flight-london-sydney-nonstop/index.html|title=Experimental Qantas ultra-long-haul London to Sydney flight takes off|website=CNN|date=14 November 2019 |access-date=2019-11-15}} Two months later, on 13 December 2019, Qantas announced that their preferred aircraft for the project was the Airbus A350-1000. The aircraft will have an additional fuel tank and slightly increased MTOW to deliver the performance required on the Project Sunrise routes. Qantas stated they were working with Airbus to order up to 12 aircraft, with the final decision expected within 2020.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-update-on-project-sunrise/|title=Qantas Update on Project Sunrise|publisher=Qantas|location=Sydney|date=13 December 2019|access-date=13 December 2019}}

On 2 May 2022, after the project was put on hold for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,{{Cite news |date=5 May 2020 |title=Coronavirus puts Qantas Project Sunrise on hold |url=https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/coronavirus-qantas-project-sunrise-airbus-a350-on-hold/ |access-date=5 May 2020 |website=Executive Traveller}} Qantas placed a formal order for 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft for Project Sunrise flights to commence in "late 2025" between its first two routes: Sydney to London, and Sydney to New York.{{Cite web |title=Project Sunrise |url=https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us/our-company/fleet/new-fleet/project-sunrise.html |access-date=29 January 2024 |publisher=Qantas|location=Sydney}}{{cite press release |url= https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-group-announces-major-aircraft-order-to-shape-its-future/ |title= Qantas group announces major aircraft order to shape its future |publisher=Qantas|location=Sydney|date= 2 May 2022}} The 238 seats will be split into 6 first class suites (three-abreast), 52 business class suites (four-abreast), 40 premium economy seats at 40″ pitch (eight-abreast) and 140 economy class seats at 33″ pitch (nine-abreast).{{cite web |url= https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Qantas-Airbus-A350-Fact-Sheet.pdf |title= Airbus A350–1000 Fact sheet |publisher=Qantas|location=Sydney |date= May 2022}}

Qantas expects these ultra-long-haul flights to drive an annual earnings increase of A$400 million ($261 million) in the first full year with all 12 aircraft in service.{{cite news |last1=Chua |first1=Alfred |title=Qantas bets on Project Sunrise, international network in long-term earnings target |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/qantas-bets-on-project-sunrise-international-network-in-long-term-earnings-target/153479.article |work=Flight Global |date=30 May 2023 }}

In February 2024, Qantas announced that due to manufacturing delays (which were blamed on a regulator-required fuel tank redesign),{{Cite news |last1=Goh |first1=Brenda |last2=Menon |first2=Praveen |date=23 February 2024 |title=Airbus says Qantas A350 delivery delays due to need to redesign extra fuel tank |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/airbus-says-qantas-a350-1000-delivery-delays-due-need-redesign-fuel-tank-2024-02-22/ |work=Reuters|location=Sydney}} delivery of the A350-1000 aircraft would be delayed by six months, thus delaying the launch of the first project Sunrise flights until mid-2026.{{Cite press release |date=22 February 2024 |title=Qantas Group Profit in 1H24 Supports Continued Investment in Customers |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-group-profit-in-1h24-supports-continued-investment-in-customers/ |publisher=Qantas|location=Sydney}}{{Cite news |title=Qantas expecting Project Sunrise delays over A350s |url=https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/137481-qantas-expecting-project-sunrise-delays-over-a350s |date= 2024-02-27 |website=ch-aviation |language=en}}

The third centre fuel tank was certified by June 2024; deliveries were then expected from the third quarter of 2026.{{cite news |url= https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/qantas-confirms-certification-of-extra-fuel-tank-for-project-sunrise-a350-1000/158617.article |title= Qantas confirms certification of extra fuel tank for 'Project Sunrise' A350-1000 |author= Lewis Harper |date= 4 June 2024 |work=Flight Global}}

Throughout the summer of 2024, Qantas announced more details regarding its development of Project Sunrise. News publications revealed features such as "Wellness Zone" that would be available for passengers onboard as a "stretch and movement space" in order to mitigate jetlag. Additionally, "fast and free" Wi-Fi onboard was promised.{{cite news |title=London-Sydney direct flights a step closer as Qantas reveals ‘anti-jet lag’ measures |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/london-sydney-nonstop-flight-qantas-project-sunrise-b2358940.html |work=The Independent |date=17 June 2023 |language=en}}

The book Beyond the Blue Horizon by travel correspondent Alexander Frater documents the author's attempt to fly all the sectors on the original 1935 Imperial/Qantas London-Brisbane route in 1984.

• Southern Cross Route – the Kangaroo Route's counterpart traveling via the Western Hemisphere
• Wallaby Route - Route launched by Qantas in 1952 connecting Sydney to Johannesburg
• [https://londonairtravel.com/2022/05/02/history-of-flight-uk-australia Fiesta Route] - Qantas' route that existed from 1964-1975 connecting Sydney to London via Fiji, Tahiti, Acapulco, Mexico City, The Bahamas, and Bermuda.{{Cite web |last=LondonAirTravel |date=2022-05-01 |title=The History Of Flight Between The UK and Australia From 1935 Onwards |url=https://londonairtravel.com/2022/05/02/history-of-flight-uk-australia/ |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=London Air Travel |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |date=April 16, 2019 |title=Quiz: Beach Boys Lyric or Qantas Route? |work=Qantas |url=https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/roo-tales/quiz-beach-boys-lyric-or-qantas-route/ |access-date=November 25, 2022}}

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{{reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite news |last1=Calder |first1=Simon |author1-link=Simon Calder |title=This is how the journey from Britain to Australia went from 28 days to 17 hours |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/uk-australia-flight-time-travel-100-years-change-london-perth-direct-a8268311.html |access-date=2023-04-16 |work=The Independent |date=2018-03-22 |language=en}}
• {{cite web |last1=Gebicki |first1=Michael |title=Non-stop flights v layovers: Which is the best option? |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/non-stop-flights-v-layovers-which-is-the-best-option-20230811-p5dvuk.html |website=Traveller |access-date=2023-08-14 |language=en |date=2023-08-13}}
• {{cite AV media | people=Benson, Shan (director) | date=1962 | title=The Big Boomerang | type=Motion picture | location=Australia | publisher=Collings Productions | url = https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/big-boomerang}}
• [https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/big-boomerang/clip2 Clip showing early Kangaroo Route development up to circa end of 1930s]
• [https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/big-boomerang/clip1 Clip showing Kangaroo Route departure on 707 circa 1961]

{{refend}}

{{Qantas}}

Category:Airline routes

Category:Qantas

Category:Aviation in the Indian Ocean