Paris (France) (AFP) – A specially modified Airbus A350 plane touched down in France Tuesday after a record 24-hour test flight from Australia, ahead of it joining Qantas's fleet next year.
Its 23,076-kilometre (14,339-mile) journey -- across three continents and two oceans, and through two sunsets and two dawns -- was one of the most-watched flights shown on the Flightradar24 tracking site.
It was also a crucial step before Australian airline Qantas receives its first A350-1000ULR in April next year, to be followed by 11 others for services able to link Australia non-stop to destinations in the United States and Europe.
The ULR in its designation stands for "ultra long distance", a feat made possible by an additional 20,000-litre rear centre fuel tank being fitted to Airbus's A350-1000 model.
The flight from Australia to France took precisely 24 hours and 24 minutes.