Qantas will return to the Big Apple in 2023, with a new one-stop service from Sydney to New York’s JFK airport via Auckland, New Zealand.

Launching on 14 June 2023, Qantas flight QF3 will depart Sydney at 10.05am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in Auckland at 3.15pm. After a 105-minute turnaround in Auckland, the flight will continue to New York where it will land 16 hours and 15 minutes later at 5pm on the same day.

The return flight will leave New York at 7.30pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in Auckland at 5am (local time) two days later. The final leg will depart Auckland at 6.30am, landing in Sydney at 8.05am. The New York-Auckland leg clocks in at 17 hours and 30 minutes, and the full journey from New York to Sydney will take 22 hours and 35 minutes.

Qantas will use Terminal 8 at New York’s Kennedy International Airport.

The Auckland-New York flights are timed to also offer easy connections to/from Qantas’ Brisbane-Auckland flights. If Qantas pushes back its 6am Auckland-Melbourne flight to a 6.15am departure, there will also be good connections available to and from Melbourne.

The flight numbers QF3 and QF4 were previously used on Qantas’ Sydney-Honolulu route, which was renumbered last year as QF103/104.

These flights will be operated by Qantas’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with Economy, Premium Economy and Business seating available.

Flights are already on sale, and there is currently some Classic Flight Reward availability – including in Business Class on some flights. (Those seats may currently only be available to Qantas Frequent Flyer members with status.) Every seat on 16 June 2023 (in both directions) was also made available to book as a Classic Reward, although the Auckland-New York flight on 16 June already sold out in Business within hours of this announcement.

Qantas will also upgrade its lounge at Auckland Airport.

Qantas has previously flown to New York for decades, but Sydney-New York has been one of the last major Qantas routes to return after the COVID-19 shutdown.

Air New Zealand also launching Auckland-New York

With Air New Zealand launching its own Auckland-New York JFK flights from 17 September 2022, also using Boeing 787s, Qantas will be going head-to-head with New Zealand’s national carrier on this route.

Air New Zealand will also be offering easy one-stop connections from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to New York via Auckland – as well as from other Australian cities like Adelaide, Gold Coast and Hobart. Air New Zealand may also have a competitive advantage with its unique Economy Skycouch product. From 2024, Air New Zealand even plans to offer bunk beds in Economy for an additional fee!

Although Qantas hasn’t specifically said this, we expect it will continue to operate its Sydney-New York route via Auckland only until its Airbus A350-1000s are delivered in late 2025. Qantas will then be able to launch the non-stop “Project Sunrise” flights the airline has already been publicising for many years.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Qantas to Launch SYD-AKL-JFK (June 2023); AKL Lounge to Become a Premium Lounge

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.