[ad_1]
Qantas will begin operating three search flights later this year to test ways to improve the health and well-being of pbadengers and crews on very long-haul flights.
The flights are part of Qantas' Project Sunrise, the airline's goal of operating non-stop scheduled commercial flights from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.
The search flights are expected to be operational in the months of October, November and December of this year, with the help of his new Boeing 787-9 aircraft, which is expected to be delivered during the same period. As a result, planned delivery flights between Seattle and Australia will be rerouted and search flights will be operated with the new aircraft. Instead of flying empty from Seattle to Australia, the plane will simulate two Project Sunrise routes – London and New York to Sydney.
The two non-stop flights will take approximately 19 hours each, subject to weather and wind conditions. It is the world's first non-stop flight between Sydney and New York, operated by a commercial airline, and the second time a commercial airline operates a non-stop flight between Sydney and London. According to Qantas, he had already made a direct connection between London and Sydney in 1989 to mark the commissioning of his Boeing 747-400.
Each flight will carry a maximum of 40 people, including crew and cabin pbadengers, who will be mostly Qantas employees. They will receive portable technology devices and participate in specific experiments at different stages of flights of approximately 19 hours.
Onboard research will be conducted in partnership with the Charles Perkins Center at Sydney University and Monash University, in collaboration with the Center for Cooperative Research on Vigilance, Safety and Productivity.
Scientists and medical experts at the Charles Perkins Center will monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, lighting, physical movement and in-flight entertainment to badess the impact on life. health, wellbeing and body clocks, while researchers from Monash University will collaborate with pilots to record the melatonin levels team before, during and after the flights. The pilots will wear an EEG (electroencephalogram) device to monitor the evolution of brain waves and monitor their vigilance.
Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas Group, said the flights will allow medical experts to conduct real-time research that will translate into health and wellness benefits.
He said: "For customers, the solution will be to minimize jet lag and create an environment conducive to a relaxing and enjoyable flight. For the crew, it is a question of resorting to the scientific research to determine the best opportunities to promote the vigilance when they are in service and to maximize the rest during their free time on these flights.
"Flying nonstop from the east coast of Australia to London and New York is truly the last frontier of aviation, so we are determined to do all the hard work to get there."
He added that the airline is also studying how to use search flight data to improve existing long-haul flights.
Qantas has already gathered data pbadenger sleep strategies on its Perth-London direct service, and some of these initial findings will be further evaluated as part of these dedicated search flights. Customer feedback on food choices, separate stretching and wellness areas, as well as entertainment options will also be tested.
According to the airline, Airbus and Boeing have presented their A350 and Boeing 777X aircraft to Qantas for Sunrise flights. Qantas plans to make a final decision by the end of December this year, depending on the economic situation of the aircraft, regulatory approvals and industry agreements.
"Sunrise is a lot of enthusiasm, but it is not clear in advance. In the end, this is a business decision and the economic data must be aggregated, "said Joyce.
The longest flight in the world is currently the Singapore-New York Newark daily flight of Singapore Airlines. Business trip examined this ultra-long-range flight in May this year.
In late July, the joint venture partnership between Qantas and American Airlines received government approval. This allows the Australian airline to launch a new non-stop service between Brisbane and the US cities of Chicago and San Francisco by the end of next April, also using a Boeing 787- 9.
qantas.com
Source link
