Qantas has announced it will recommence flights to New York, with a new service from Australia to the Big Apple via Auckland from 14 June next year, with fares on sale from today.
The launch of QF3 and QF4 will see the flying kangaroo return to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) three days a week initially, after a three-year pandemic-induced hiatus on its 787 Dreamliners.
Qantas currently operates six daily services to Auckland from Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, which will increase to 11 daily services when the new flight to New York launches.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said flying via Auckland would provide better connectivity from more destinations in Australia before an uninterrupted 16-hour flight to New York.
“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.
“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.
“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 says it will also fly two Points Planes in the first week, with all seats across every cabin available as a Classic Reward flight on QF3 and QF4 on 16 June.
Air New Zealand will begin its flagship three-time-weekly direct service between Auckland and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on 17 September 2022.
Lounge Upgrades
Qantas also announced today that it will upgrade its lounge network with a multi-million dollar investment to build new lounges in Adelaide, Auckland, Port Hedland and Rockhampton.
Qantas will completely redesign and expand its existing lounge precinct at Auckland International Airport – plans for which were stalled by the pandemic – to provide a modern pre-flight oasis for customers travelling to-and-from Australia as well as on the new Auckland-New York service.
The existing two lounge spaces will be combined and redeveloped into a single Qantas International Lounge and include a footprint expansion into an adjacent space to increase total capacity by around 40 per cent from 244 seats to 340 seats.
“Our new Auckland International lounge will be a step change in comfort. It will offer a lot more space and, like all of our offshore lounges, feature the best of local design, food and wine,” said Mr Joyce.
Qantas has now reopened almost all of its 51 domestic and international lounges, including its Los Angeles First Lounge, earlier this month. The lounge at Honolulu is scheduled to reopen in the coming months after a light refresh to furniture and amenities.
For more, head to: www.qantas.com/au
