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By Justin Bachman

Pretty much everyone prefers a nonstop flight — business people, especially. And they are more likely than most to be in a position to afford the premium. But right now, all the money in the world won’t get you from Sydney to the Big Apple or U.K. without a pit stop, because commercial planes just don’t have that kind of range. That may soon change.

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For many years, executives at Australian carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. have coveted a nonstop offering from Sydney and Melbourne to London. Now, as technology has matured, Qantas executives finally see the potential to realize that dream. Two new models planned by Airbus SE and Boeing Co., they hope, will be able to make the nonstop trip to London — 20 hours and 20 minutes — from Sydney. This new model would also jet across the Pacific Ocean to New York in about 18 hours.

On Friday, Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce issued a public “challenge” to the companies to extend the range of Boeing’s new 777X, which is slated for 2020, and the planned “Ultra-Long Range” version of Airbus’s A350, which rolls out next year. Qantas hopes to take delivery of such a plane and begin its Sydney to London service in 2022, the company said as part of its full-year income results.