With less than two weeks before the launch of the Perth to London nonstop service, Qantas is nearing a decision about a plane that could fly Perth to Los Angeles nonstop.

Under a project dubbed Sunrise, Qantas has challenged aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus to extract extra kilometres from two new designs — the 777X and A350 — that will make possible flights such as Perth-LA and Sydney-London nonstop.

They could also reach Vancouver in Canada, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Santiago, Chile, nonstop from Perth with a full payload of passengers.

Camera Icon Boeing’s 777X-8 will be capable of flying from Perth to LA non-stop for a full payload. Credit: Boeing

Boeing’s 777X will fly early next year, and one of the models — the 777-8X — is capable of carrying 365 passengers 16,000km. However, the Qantas requirement is for 300 passengers in a more spacious layout, which would give the plane even more range.

Airbus is proposing its A350-900ULR which has similar capabilities, though it is slightly smaller. Singapore Airlines is due to take delivery of the aircraft later this year.

Boeing said recently it was close to meeting the project Sunrise requirement of flying from Sydney to London and New York nonstop with 300 passengers.

No plane currently in service has the range to fly these direct routes with passengers and luggage at full capacity.

The 777X and A350 series offer significant improvements in passenger comfort, fuel burn and range over the aircraft they are replacing.

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Qantas is keen to develop more nonstop routes after the surge of bookings for the Perth to London Boeing 787 nonstop service that starts on March 24.

An insider at Qantas said that executives at the airline are “extremely impressed” by the aircraft’s performance and miserly fuel consumption.

The Boeing 777X, while developed from the popular 777, is almost an entirely new aircraft.

It has a new composite wing, new, more fuel-efficient engines, wider cabin internally and bigger windows.

The model that Qantas wants is due to enter service in 2022.