dailynewsnblog
Qantas has announced concrete timescales for the launch of its second ultra-long-haul ‘Project Sunrise’ route from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) in the Australian state of New South Wales to John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. This marks an exciting step forward in the carrier’s intercontinental ambitions, which it aims to realize using specially configured Airbus A350s.
The New York launch will follow London Heathrow Airport (LHR) in the United Kingdom as Qantas’ first Project Sunrise destination from Sydney. Both the ‘Big Apple’ and the ‘Big Smoke’ are currently served by Qantas on a one-stop basis from Sydney, meaning that flyers stand to save hours of precious time on each route as a result of the launch of the new nonstop flights. Let’s examine the new timescales.
Less Than A Year Until Tickets Go On Sale
Earlier today, Qantas confirmed that its nonstop New York flights will commence in mid-2028. While this is still a way off, something that flyers can look forward to in the shorter term is the fact that, as also announced earlier today by Qantas, tickets for the route are set to go on sale in August of 2027, just 11 months down the line. The carrier cites growing Australia-US travel demand as a key catalyst.
Indeed, Qantas notes that “demand in and out of New York on Qantas has nearly doubled since 2023 and the appetite for non-stop, ultra long-haul flying has also continued to grow.” On the latter front, the airline highlights the fact that “intent to book [has risen] from 58 to 70% since February this year, reaching 80% among premium travellers.” Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson welcomed this exciting milestone:
“Reaching New York non-stop completes a vision we set out many years ago, and it’s a moment of enormous pride for the thousands of our people who have been working hard to make Project Sunrise a reality.”
A Cabin Made For Ultra-Long-Haul Flying
While long-haul comfort has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, the unprecedented nonstop flights that Qantas is set to operate as part of its Project Sunrise initiative require specially-configured aircraft and cabins. They will be served by Airbus A350-1000ULRs that, as Qantas puts it, are set to be “fitted with an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank that enables the aircraft to fly up to 22 hours nonstop.”
The airline has also devised a low-density configuration to ensure maximum comfort. This will have space for just 238 seats, compared to the figure of 369 that is typical for standard A350-1000s, according to Airbus. The layout will feature just six seats in first class, 52 in business, 40 in premium economy, and 140 in economy class. Contrastingly, Singapore Airlines’ A350-900ULRs have no economy seats.
Aside from the seats themselves, Qantas also plans to offer “a world-first Wellbeing Zone” on these aircraft, which will also help flyers to deal with the challenges of ultra-long-haul flying. The carrier has big plans for its ultra-long-haul fleet, and says that “more than 360 Qantas pilots and 1,200 cabin crew will be trained to operate Qantas’ fleet of Project Sunrise aircraft by the time the 12th A350-1000ULR arrives.”
Hours Saved Vs Today’s One-Stop Offering
Qantas first flew to New York in 1958 as part of a multi-stop itinerary with layovers in Fiji, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Today, its offering is more streamlined, although its daily flights between Sydney and JFK still require a stop en route. QF3 takes three hours to reach Auckland (AKL), and then, after a 135-minute layover, is on the move for 15 hours and 55 minutes before reaching New York JFK.
This results in an end-to-end journey time of 21 hours and ten minutes. Meanwhile, the return leg (QF4) takes 17 hours and 35 minutes to fly from JFK to Auckland, where it remains on the ground for 110 minutes. Thereafter, the second leg to Sydney takes three hours and 35 minutes, giving a total journey time of 23 hours. Qantas advertizes that Project Sunrise “will cut more than three hours off” these durations.
