Qantas will launch flights from Sydney to New York via Auckland in June 2023, in direct competition with Air New Zealand’s forthcoming Big Apple route.
The airline will run a Boeing 787 three days a week on the marathon flight, which will act as a prelude to non-stop Sydney-New York flights under Project Sunrise from late 2025.
After the quick three-hour hop to Auckland, travellers will strap themselves in for a 16-hour leg to New York’s JFK airport.
The New York flights will inherit the QF3/QF4 flight numbers which used to adorn the route when it had a stopover in Honolulu, and have remain attached to Qantas’ Honolulu flights.
- QF3 will depart Sydney on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 9.45am, arriving into Auckland at 2.50pm; it will then be wheels-up for New York at 5pm, reaching JFK Airport at 5.15pm the same day
- QF4 will depart New York on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 7.30pm, reaching Auckland at 5am the following day, with an 8am departure for the final leg to arrive into Sydney at 9.40am
Tickets for QF3/QF4 go on sale today, with the flight each way on 16 June being designated as Points Planes on which every seats from tip to tail can be booked at Classic Reward rates, with one-way in business class at 144,600 Qantas Points.
“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,” says Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce, who added that three new Dreamliners would arrive in the hangars next year.
As with its flights from Perth to London and Rome, Qantas expects travellers from other Australian cities to make their way to Sydney in order to join the NY trip, saying the Sydney departures “will be timed to offer convenient connections.”
“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,” Joyce noted.
“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.”
Qantas will also finally upgrade its Auckland lounges ahead of the New York flight’s June 2023 debut, with the current business and first lounges being replaced by a single and significantly improved ‘premium lounge’ experience..
And ahead of the flight from New York, business class travellers and frequent flyers will enjoy a visit to one of three new lounges jointly operated by Oneworld members American Airlines and British Airways at Terminal 8.
Article available on ExecutiveTraveller.com
