Qantas will launch non-stop services between Sydney and New York from mid-2028, the first ever non-stop commercial service between Australia and the Big Apple, as part of Project Sunrise. Tickets for the inaugural Sydney to New York service will go on sale from August 2027.
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The ground-breaking flights will cut more than 3 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 Sydney to London non-stop flights that will begin in October 2027.
Qantas first flew to New York in 1958, as part of its inaugural round-the-world service, reaching the biggest city in the US from Sydney via Fiji, Honolulu and San Francisco. Today the airline operates a daily one-stop service between Sydney and New York via Auckland.
Project Sunrise flights will be operated by specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank that enables the aircraft to fly more than 16,000 kilometres, and up to 22 hours non-stop. Qantas will take delivery of 12 aircraft in total, each configured with 238 seats across four cabins.
The first test aircraft is currently in the final stages of its flight test program, and recently completed a record-breaking non-stop 24 hour and 24 minute flight from Melbourne to Toulouse, a first for any commercial airliner in the world. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered to Qantas in April next year
In preparation for the aircraft’s arrival, Qantas pilots have commenced training on Australia’s first A350 simulator in Sydney. More than 360 Qantas pilots and 1,200 cabin crew will be trained to operate Qantas’ fleet of Project Sunrise aircraft by the time the 12th A350-1000ULR arrives.