Qantas to begin non-stop Sydney-New York flights in 2028

Qantas will launch non-stop flights between Sydney and New York from mid-2028 under its Project Sunrise initiative, marking the first direct commercial service between Australia and New York.

Tickets for the inaugural Sydney-New York flights are expected to go on sale in August 2027. The non-stop service will cut more than three hours from the total journey time compared with current one-stop options, connecting Australia’s east coast with New York without an intermediate stop for the first time.

New York is the second Project Sunrise route to be confirmed, following Qantas’ Sydney-London non-stop service, which is scheduled to begin in October 2027.

Qantas first served New York in 1958 as part of its inaugural round-the-world service. The route connected Sydney with New York 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. The aircraft feature an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank, allowing them to fly more than 16,000 kilometres and operate non-stop for up to 22 hours. Qantas is set to receive 12 of the aircraft, each featuring 238 seats across four cabins.

The first test aircraft is in the final stages of its flight-test programme after recently completing a record-breaking 24-hour-and-24-minute non-stop flight from Melbourne to Toulouse. The flight was the longest ever completed by a commercial airliner. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered to Qantas in April next year.

Demand for travel between Australia and the United States continues to increase, with visitor arrivals from the US up five per cent year-on-year. Qantas has also seen demand for travel to and from New York nearly double since 2023. Interest in non-stop ultra-long-haul travel has continued to rise, with intent to book increasing from 58 per cent to 70 per cent since February this year and reaching 80 per cent among premium travellers.

Since 2018, nearly two million passengers have travelled on Qantas’ non-stop long-haul services, including flights from Perth to London, Rome and Paris, as well as Melbourne to Dallas and Auckland to New York. These routes have recorded the highest customer satisfaction scores across the airline’s international network.

The launch of non-stop Sydney-New York services in 2028 will further expand travel options for passengers travelling between Australia and the United States, Qantas said.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the addition of New York to Project Sunrise marked a defining moment for travel between Australia and the United States.

“Conquering the tyranny of distance has been part of who Qantas is from the very beginning. Reaching New York non-stop 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. New York has always captured the imagination, and for generations, reaching it from Australia has meant breaking up the journey somewhere along the way. From 2028, 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.” she added.

“Flying these distances is only worth doing if our customers arrive feeling their best, and that belief has shaped everything we've built. Over the past decade, working alongside experts, we've designed the aircraft and the onboard experience around the science of ultra long-haul travel, from the lighting to the meals to a world-first Wellbeing Zone. This is a fundamentally different way to fly.”

Ahead of the aircraft’s arrival, Qantas pilots have begun training on Australia’s first A350 simulator in Sydney. More than 360 Qantas pilots and 1,200 cabin crew are expected to complete training to operate the Project Sunrise fleet by the time the 12th A350-1000ULR is delivered.