Australians could soon find themselves flying to Europe via the North Pole instead of arriving from the south as part of a new, unusual Qantas flight path.The new ‘north polar flight path’ will be used for about 20 per cent of Qantas’ non-stop flights from Sydney to London, particularly during the northern winter. The world-first flights will take off from October 2027 using a fleet of custom-designed Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft.It may seem strange for the airline to choose the long way to London in terms of distance, but by avoiding winds at certain times of the year and with less air traffic, it can actually end up being the faster option.Qantas’ chief technical pilot Alex Passerini explained to news.com.au at Airbus headquarters in France that there are airlines that transverse the North Pole region today, but this will be a first for a commercial airline out of Australia.“The whole approach is very different to what we used to,” he said.“At the end of the day, we’re flying over the North Pacific, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland and into London from the north, which, you know, you really have to stop and have a think about that.“There’s different air space we traverse, slightly different procedures, there’s some different things to think about in the polar region. Things like communications and space weather,” Mr Passerini said.“We go around the South Pole area on our flights to South America, so, we’re familiar with the South Pole region, but this is new for us as the North Pole region.”During a presentation to reporters, Mr Passerini described the new flight path into London from the north as “very special” and a “very cool” new experience for someone from Australia.Australian and foreign aviation reporters whipped out their phones eagerly to film as the unusual flight path was shown on a screen in front of them.Mr Passerini said it had come from Qantas’ advanced flight planning system called Constellation, which was developed in collaboration with ⁠University of Sydney’s Australian Centre for Field Robotics.“The planning phase is super important because that’s going to describe how much fuel you load on the aeroplane, your flight time and any restrictions that are applied to you on the route,” he said.“You can’t buy it off the shelf,” the pilot said, referring to the Constellation flight planning system. “It’s a development that’s gone on for a decade. We think it’s the best system in the world.”From Qantas’ planning so far, the fastest flight time from Sydney to London would be 19 hours and 25 minutes, and the slowest would be 20 hours and 55 minutes. The flight time from Sydney to London is expected to be faster, between 18 and 20 hours.While pilots are typically certified for only one aircraft type at a time, Qantas pilots flying the new ultra-long-range aircraft will receive a special type rating so they can fly both the A330 and A350. The cockpit design of the aircraft is transferable so Qantas can share a pool of pilots across two fleets.That is essentially so the A350 trained pilots are not sitting around waiting for more of the new aircraft to arrive.The first A350-1000ULR will be delivered to Qantas in April 2027, with four more expected by November that year. In total, Qantas has ordered 12 aircraft and will receive them over a two-and-a-half-year period.Each long-range flight requires four pilots and 14 cabin crew. There are nine beds on board for the cabin crew to rest, and a separate private rest area with two seats and two bunks for the pilots.“No one else has this,” Mr Passerini said. “It’s beyond what the regulations require.”Australians on the east coast can currently fly Qantas to Europe via Singapore or Perth.“It’s going to save customers up to four hours compared to the fastest one-stop service that you can take today,” Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said when announcing the first non-stop route.“And it will give our customers something that no other airline in the world can give them. The choice. The choice to fly Sydney to London without stopping anywhere along the way.“On an aircraft that has been specifically designed by Qantas to make these flights possible and with an on-board experience that has been tailored to suit every customer in every cabin through every stage of the journey.”When asked if Ms Hudson herself would fly economy on the new flight she said she “absolutely” would.“I’ve spoken to a lot of families travelling with kids, and I know when I used to travel with my kids when they were young, waking them up and getting them off technically in the middle of the night in a midpoint, whether you’re in Asia or the Middle East … you know what they say, never wake a sleeping baby,” the Qantas boss said.“A lot of the parents that I speak to have actually said this is their preferred way of going so that once the kids are asleep they stay asleep.”Read related topics:QantasSydney