Qantas announces direct Auckland – New York flights

Qantas has today announced it will be launching a new direct route that will benefit Aussies wanting to travel to the US.

Qantas has today announced it will be launching a new route from Australia to New York — via Auckland.

It will recommence flights to New York three days a week initially, after a three-year Covid-induced hiatus, with the new service starting from June next year.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce made the announcement on Thursday during the airline’s full yearly results for 2022.

Mr Joyce announced Qantas Group had an underlying loss before tax of almost $1.9 billion, and a statutory loss before tax of just under $1.2 billion, bringing the airline’s total losses since the start of the pandemic to more than $7 billion and takes lost revenue to more than $25 billion.

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Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announced the airline will recommence flights to New York, with a new service from Australia to the New York via Auckland. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Mr Joyce said the new route is made possible by the delivery of new aircraft, with flights to be operated by its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with three new aircraft scheduled for delivery next year.

“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,” Mr Joyce said in a statement.

He explained that flying via Auckland would provide “better connectivity” from more destinations in Australia, before an uninterrupted 16 hour flight to New York.

“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,” he adds.

While the new route launches in June next year, flights are on sale from today.

However, Air New Zealand has also announced the exact same route with its passengers able to fly straight to New York from September 17 this year.

The new service will commence from 14 June, 2023. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

It marks the carrier’s first ultra-long haul direct flight from New Zealand to the Big Apple.

The flights from Auckland will operate as NZ2 and the ones originating from New York’s JFK airport will be numbered NZ1.

“Traditionally, flight numbers 1 and 2 are used for an airline’s flagship route. And that’s what New York will be — our flagship route,” the airline’s CEO, Greg Foran, said in a statement.

Each leg will operate three times a week on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Tickets are already on sale on ANZ’s website.

The flight will take 16 hours from Auckland to JFK and will take about 17 hours and 35 minutes form New York back to Auckland.

Air New Zealand has also announced the exact same route with its passengers able to fly straight to New York from September 17 this year. Picture: Chris Kidd

Currently, the longest passenger flight in the world runs between Singapore and JFK on Singapore Airlines. It covers 9,534 miles and spends about 18 hours in the air.

But the flight route set to be the longest in the world, with passengers expected to endure at least 20 hours in the air non-stop before reaching their destination — is Qantas’ direct flights between Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York to begin from late-2025.

Qantas currently operates six daily services to Auckland from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne which will increase to 11 daily services when the newly announced flight from Sydney to Auckland to New York launches.

Mr Joyce said the airline will invest millions into upgrading its Auckland International lounge — as well as in Adelaide, Port Hedland and Rockhampton.

“It will offer a lot more space and, like all of our offshore lounges, feature the best of local design, food and wine,” he said.

Initial plans for the revamp were stalled by the pandemic, but the airline will soon commence works on combining the existing two lounge spaces to develop it into a single Qantas International Lounge.