Qantas announced it will launch nonstop service between Sydney and New York in mid-2028, the first-ever nonstop commercial service between Australia and New York, as part of the carrier’s Project Sunrise.
Tickets for the inaugural service are set to go on sale in August 2027. The flights, according to the announcement, will cut more than three hours off the total travel time compared with current one-stop services today, connecting Australia’s east coast to New York without a stop for the first time in history.
New York is the second Project Sunrise route to be confirmed, following the announcement of Sydney to London nonstop flights set to begin in October 2027.
Qantas first flew to New York in 1958 as part of its inaugural round-the-world service, reaching the city from Sydney via Fiji, Honolulu and San Francisco. Today the airline operates a daily one-stop service between Sydney and New York via Auckland.
The Project Sunrise flights will be operated by specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, fitted with an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank that enables the aircraft to fly more than 9,900 miles, and up to 22 hours nonstop. Qantas will take delivery of 12 aircraft in total, each configured with 238 seats across four cabins.
Demand for travel between Australia and the US continues to grow, according to the announcement, with visitor arrivals from the US up 5% year on year. Demand in and out of New York on Qantas has nearly doubled since 2023, and the appetite for nonstop, ultra long-haul flying has also continued to grow, with intent to book rising from 58% to 70% since February this year, and reaching 80% among premium travelers, according to the announcement.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said adding New York to Project Sunrise was a “defining moment” for Australia and the US. She continued: “Conquering the tyranny of distance has been part of who Qantas is from the very beginning. Reaching New York nonstop 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.”
Beginning in 2028, said Hudson, “our customers will be able to board in Sydney and arrive in New York around 18 hours later without stopping once, cutting around three hours off the current fastest travel time. That changes what’s possible for travel between our two countries.”
