{"id":2360,"date":"2026-06-19T04:40:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T04:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2360"},"modified":"2026-06-19T04:40:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T04:40:27","slug":"sleep-and-light-the-science-behind-qantas-bet-on-20-hour-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2360","title":{"rendered":"Sleep and light: the science behind Qantas&#8217; bet on 20-hour flights"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Summary<\/li>\n<li>Companies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>TOULOUSE, France, June 19 (Reuters) &#8211; Qantas Airways (QAN.AX)<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span> is betting that science can make the world&#8217;s longest flights feel less punishing &#8211; unveiling plans for a &#8220;wellness zone,&#8221; extra legroom, specially timed meals and animated lighting \u200bon its non-stop Sydney-London services due to launch next October.<\/div>\n<div>The Australian carrier, which plans to follow up with non-stop flights from Sydney to New York, this week offered detailed briefings \u200con the science of roughly 20-hour journeys as it looks to convince passengers to pay a premium for avoiding a stopover.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;It&#8217;s a major biological challenge crossing all these time zones &#8211; seven to nine for London and 14 to 16 for New York,&#8221; said Peter Cistulli, professor of sleep medicine at the University of Sydney, who took part in scientific research for &#8220;Project Sunrise&#8221;.<\/div>\n<div>Frequent long-haul Australian travellers told Reuters their biggest priorities when deciding whether they would take the ultra-long flights included seat comfort, \u200bthe ability to move around and cost.<\/div>\n<div>Qantas has gone beyond that, studying every detail for the flights on Airbus (AIR.PA)<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span> A350-1000ULR planes since the project was launched nearly a decade ago, from nutrition to \u200bergonomics, movement and above all light &#8211; a vital cue for the body clock.<\/div>\n<div>By optimising meal times &#8211; such as avoiding food just after takeoff &#8211; and creating a &#8220;protective \u2060sleep window&#8221; with the help of lighting, passengers showed better alertness during tests than with a traditional service, Cistulli said.<\/div>\n<div>Cabin designer David Caon said he had been asked to approach it as a health and \u200bscientific task as much as an aesthetic one.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;When you have a passenger for essentially a whole day, it really does drive a whole set of new decisions,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div>Caon toyed with novel ideas, including exercise bikes \u200band yoga mats. Those did not make the cut, but a dedicated &#8220;wellness zone&#8221; remained, bathed in diffused, shimmering light.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I wanted to recreate the sense of lying by the swimming pool,&#8221; Caon told reporters.<\/div>\n<div>Elsewhere in the cabin, custom mood lighting will simulate sunrise or sunset, moving from front to back. It took weeks to programme 14 light &#8220;scenarios&#8221; inspired by Australia&#8217;s scenery.<\/div>\n<div>All of this aims to reduce the discomfort of flights that could be as long as 22 hours on such specially modified \u200bjets.<\/div>\n<div>But the sense of space also has a business aim: to turn Australia&#8217;s remote position into a travel experience that other airlines cannot easily match &#8211; and generate 20% more revenue.<\/div>\n<div>Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said the \u200bexpected 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.<\/div>\n<h2>PASSENGER VIEWS<\/h2>\n<div>Qantas has designed the plane in a \u200cpremium-heavy configuration \u2060as 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.<\/div>\n<div>A senior airline industry executive said other operating risks would include costly diversions, given the long routes.<\/div>\n<div>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.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;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 \u200bit,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div>But comfort would be decisive.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I am six-foot-four (193 \u200bcm) so the economy seat is too small&#8230;I \u2060would have to ask for some more details on the seats,&#8221; Davies added.<\/div>\n<div>Qantas said the regular economy pitch, or distance between seats, would be 33 inches (84 cm), though some rows would be slightly tighter at 32 inches and this would be made clear when booking. Part of the cabin will be sold as &#8220;Economy \u200bPlus,&#8221; offering 34 inches of legroom.<\/div>\n<div>At the front of the aircraft, Qantas is the latest airline to install enclosed first-class suites with a fixed bed.<\/div>\n<div>Melbourne-based business \u200bexecutive Ian Morden said he \u2060was not put off by ultra-long flights, as he likes to use the time to work and think.<\/div>\n<div>But he questioned how much the four-hour time savings from avoiding a stopover would justify the fares that the airline&#8217;s business case demands.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;A slight premium would be justifiable but&#8230;I probably wouldn&#8217;t choose it for a 20% premium on an already much more expensive business-class flight,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div>London-based Nathalie Curtis, who travels extensively for her work in the international cultural \u2060sector, said \u200bshe would take the flight if it lived up to the airline&#8217;s marketing, but expressed concerns about the deterioration of cabins \u200bon very long flights.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;If it allows you to move around, reduce jet lag with lighting adjustment and is hygienic and saves &#8230; four hours then I would go for it and pay a 20% premium,&#8221; she said.<\/div>\n<div>Mark Levine, an Australian strategic adviser in New York, \u200bsaid direct flights from Sydney would take the organisational friction out of lives spread between different continents.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The distance doesn\u2019t change but the journey feels a little smaller,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2358\">Andy Burnham\u2019s election to parliament sets up bid to oust UK PM Starmer<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2356\">Maserati refreshes lineup ahead of expected strategic reset for luxury brand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2354\">The paint is already peeling in Trump\u2019s renovated Washington Reflecting Pool<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Qantas Airways is betting that science can make the world&#8217;s longest flights feel less punishing &#8211; unveiling plans for a &#8220;wellness zone,&#8221; extra legroom, specially timed meals and animated lighting \u200bon its non-stop Sydney-London services due to launch next October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sleep and light: the science behind Qantas&#039; bet on 20-hour flights - Reliable Moving Crews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=2360\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sleep and light: the science behind Qantas&#039; 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