Before starting nonstop flights from Australia to New York as part of ‘Project Sunrise’ with Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, Qantas will start flights on Sydney-Auckland-New York route. Qantas will return to New York after a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starting 14th June 2023, Qantas will operate 3-flights-a-week between Sydney Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport via Auckland International Airport with the following schedule:
- Sydney-Auckland
- Departure time: 10:05
- Arrival time: 15:15
- Flight time: 3 hours and 10 minutes
- Flight number: QF3
- Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
- Auckland-New York JFK
- Departure time: 17:00
- Arrival time: 17:15
- Flight time: 16 hours and 15 minutes
- Flight number: QF3
- Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
- New York JFK-Auckland
- Departure time: 19:30
- Arrival time: 05:00 (+2 days)
- Flight time: 17 hours and 30 minutes
- Flight number: QF4
- Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
- Auckland-Sydney
- Departure time: 06:30
- Arrival time: 08:05
- Flight time: 3 hours and 35 minutes
- Flight number: QF4
- Frequency: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays
These flights will be operated by Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 42 lie-flat Business Class seats, 28 Premium Economy seats and 166 standard Economy Class seats.
Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas Group said “that flying via Auckland would provide better connectivity from more destinations in Australia, before an uninterrupted 16 hour flight to New York”.
We’re back flying to most of our pre-COVID destinations, which is a fantastic achievement by our teams and so important for Australians reconnecting with the rest of the world. We can’t wait to return to New York and it’s made possible by the delivery of new aircraft, which have been caught up in delays that have impacted lots of airlines. Customer feedback on our direct London and Rome services show how well suited our Dreamliner cabins are to longer international flights like these, which is helped by the fact we designed them with more room and fewer seats than most of our competitors. We think this route will be very popular with Australians given the opportunity to connect via Auckland and it also gives New Zealanders more choice.
added Alan Joyce.
Related: Qantas to launch nonstop flights between Melbourne and Dallas
Qantas currently operates six daily services to Auckland from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne which will increase to 11 daily services when the new flight to New York launches.
The Sydney-based airline will fly two Points Planes in the first week, with all seats across every cabin available as a Classic Reward flight on QF3 and QF4 on 16th June 2022. Points Plane connections will also be available for Frequent Flyers based in Brisbane and Melbourne to use Classic Rewards for their trans-Tasman flights.
Prior to the pandemic, Qantas used to operate flights to New York via Los Angeles. However, it did not have the fifth-freedom rights to sell tickets solely for Los Angeles-New York or New York-Los Angeles flights. Now, Los Angeles is being replaced by Auckland. Qantas has been allowed to sell tickets solely for Auckland-New York and New York-Auckland flights.
Qantas will directly compete with Air New Zealand on flights between Auckland and New York. The Kiwi carrier will launch nonstop flights to New York JFK next month on 17th September 2022. The national carrier of New Zealand too will use B787 Dreamliners on its flights to The Big Apple.
Although both the airlines will compete, one good things for travellers is that both will have flights on different days of the week. While Qantas will fly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, Air New Zealand will fly on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
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Lounge upgrades at multiple airports
The airline will upgrade its lounge network, with a multi-million dollar investment to build new lounges in Adelaide, Auckland, Port Hedland and Rockhampton.
Qantas has Australia’s most extensive lounge network with 35 domestic lounges as well as 16 lounges at International airports across Australia and around the world, including a new First Lounge in Singapore and our flagship First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne.
The airline will upgrade existing or build new lounges at the following airports:
Auckland International Airport:
Qantas will completely redesign and expand its existing lounge precinct at Auckland International Airport – plans for which were stalled by the pandemic – to provide a modern pre-flight oasis for customers travelling to-and-from Australia as well as on the new Auckland-New York service.
The existing two lounge space will be combined and redeveloped into a single Qantas International Lounge and include a footprint expansion into an adjacent space to increase total capacity by around 40% from 244 seats to 340 seats.
The detailed design process will begin shortly and building work will be staged to enable the lounge to operate during the redevelopment. The lounge will offer a number of features specifically tailored for long haul travel, based on positive feedback from other parts of its network.
Adelaide Domestic Airport:
Qantas will build a new Business Lounge at Adelaide Domestic Airport with 190 seating capacity, as well as fully upgrade its current Chairmans Lounge and Qantas Club. The new Business Lounge will cater to Qantas’ growing business and premium leisure travellers. Total seating capacity across the three lounges will be 570.
The redevelopment of the lounge precinct at Adelaide Airport will begin in the second half of 2023. South Australia’s culinary reputation and natural environment is expected to play a key role in the design inspiration.
Rockhampton Airport:
Qantas will build a new lounge at Rockhampton Airport as part of its ongoing commitment to invest in regional Australia and as part of the overall airport redevelopment. It will be double the capacity of the existing one, with seating for up to 60 guests, and is expected to open in November this year.
Port Hedland Airport:
Qantas will redevelop its Port Hedland lounge as part of the broader terminal upgrade. The new lounge footprint will be significantly larger, providing more space to quadruple the lounge capacity to 120 guests to cater for the growing FIFO market. Work will be completed by late 2023.
Meanwhile, Qantas recently announced an order for Airbus A350-1000XLR, A321XLR and A220-300 aircraft.
Featured image by Qantas
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