Qantas will recommence flights to New York, with a new service from Australia to the Big Apple via Auckland from 14 June next year*.
The launch of QF3 and QF4 will see the flying kangaroo return to New York three days a week initially, after a three-year COVID-induced hiatus. Flights will be operated by its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with three new aircraft scheduled for delivery next year.
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’re back flying to most of our pre-COVID destinations, which is a fantastic achievement by our teams and so important for Australians reconnecting with the rest of the world.
“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.”
Sydney-Auckland-New York flights are on sale from today. Qantas currently operates six daily services to Auckland from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne which will increase to 11 daily services when the new flight to New York launches.
Qantas will 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. Points Plane connections will also be available for Frequent Flyers based in Brisbane and Melbourne to use Classic Rewards for their trans-Tasman flights.
LOUNGE UPGRADE PROGRAM
The airline will upgrade its lounge network, with a multi-million dollar investment to build new lounges in Adelaide, Auckland, Port Hedland and Rockhampton.
“We know how much our customers value being able to relax before their flight, whether they’re flying from a major regional port or an international hub,” said Mr Joyce.
“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.”
Qantas has Australia’s most extensive lounge network with 35 domestic lounges as well as 16 lounges at International airports across Australia and around the world, including a new First Lounge in Singapore and our flagship First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, which are firm favourites with our Frequent Flyers.
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 coming months after a light refresh to furniture and amenities.
Auckland International Airport
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 space 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 percent from 244 seats to 340 seats.
The detailed design process will begin shortly and building work will be staged to enable the lounge to operate during the redevelopment. The lounge will offer a number of features specifically tailored for long haul travel, based on positive feedback from other parts of its network.
Adelaide Domestic Airport
Qantas will build a new Business Lounge at Adelaide Domestic Airport with 190 seating capacity, as well as fully upgrade its current Chairmans Lounge and Qantas Club. The new Business Lounge will cater to Qantas’ growing business and premium leisure travellers. Total seating capacity across the three lounges will be 570.
The redevelopment of the lounge precinct at Adelaide Airport will begin in the second half of 2023. South Australia’s culinary reputation and natural environment is expected to play a key role in the design inspiration.
Rockhampton Airport
Qantas will build a new lounge at Rockhampton Airport as part of its ongoing commitment to invest in regional Australia and as part of the overall airport redevelopment. It will be double the capacity of the existing one, with seating for up to 60 guests, and is expected to open in November this year.
Port Hedland Airport
Qantas will redevelop its Port Hedland lounge as part of the broader terminal upgrade. The new lounge footprint will be significantly larger, providing more space to quadruple the lounge capacity to 120 guests to cater for the growing FIFO market. Work will be completed by late 2023.
New Cabin Crew Training Centre
Qantas has also opened a Cabin Crew training facility, “The Longreach Centre”, at its Sydney headquarters with the capacity to train up to 200 crew members a day. It comes as the airline embarks on a recruitment drive for new team members across its regional, domestic and international airlines, with more than 1,600 new cabin crew team members expected to join the national carrier over the next 10 months.
The Longreach Centre features First, Business and Economy aircraft cabins and galleys where new recruits and existing crew undergo service training from cooking in the onboard kitchens to wine and sommelier training.
*Flights subject to regulatory approval