Qantas opts for AKL over LAX for its return to JFK

Story by ANDREW KACIMAIWAI

QANTAS is returning to New York via a new route – the City of Sails (Auckland) instead of the City of Angels (Los Angeles).

The inaugural QF3 service, from Sydney, took off on Wednesday, June 14, the first time in more than three years. The new route will ensure passengers will bypass a transition through LAX, one of the world’s busiest airports.

(Qantas, Air NZ unite over Auckland Airport charges: click HERE for the story)

The Sydney-Auckland leg is about three hours and the Auckland-New York about 16 hours. Total travel time on the SYD-AKL-JFK route will be about 19½ hours or covering 16,371 kilometres.

Flights will initially operate three days per week using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and should increase to four flights from October, offering more than 1800 seats on the route each week.

Travelling on the inaugural flight, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the airline was thrilled to be heading to New York again.

“While the world has changed dramatically since the start of COVID, one thing that hasn’t changed is the lure of New York City,” he said.

“Since international borders re-opened, New York has been one of the most popular destinations for our customers who have been connecting on our partners from Qantas flights arriving into Los Angeles and Dallas, so it’s not surprising that we’ve seen very strong demand since our New York flights went on sale.

“The launch of the route has been made possible by the delivery of new 787 aircraft in recent weeks and brings us closer to returning our international capacity to what it was before COVID.”

The Qantas Group is expected to return to around 100 per cent of its international network pre-COVID capacity by March 2024, up from around its current 85 per cent of pre-COVID levels compared to just 45 per cent 12 months ago.

“The flights are great news for Australian tourism, helping to bring more visitors from the United States to explore the best of New South Wales and beyond with connections from Sydney across our extensive domestic network,” added Mr Joyce.

“Flying via Auckland makes it easier for travellers from all parts of Australia to access New York, with the choice of 11 daily flights across the Tasman from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

“Offering more room and fewer seats than most of our competitors, the cabins onboard these aircraft have been designed with long-haul travel in mind.”

Qantas says the new service means it now operates three of the top five longest flights in the world with Perth-London and Dallas-Melbourne services on its books as well.

Qantas is also advancing plans for a major overhaul of its Auckland International Lounge as part of a $100 million investment in new and upgraded lounges domestically and internationally.

The Auckland lounge is expected to feature an edible herb garden, more space and the best of local design, food and wine when it opens in mid-2024.