This surge to daily services between June and October 2026 comes after Australia’s national carrier reduced operations on the Sydney-New York route from six to five flights a week in February.
The temporary rise in services will be the first time Qantas has offered daily flights between the two destinations since pre-pandemic.
“We’re thrilled to be increasing our Sydney-New York flights via Auckland to daily from June to October next year,” said Qantas International CEO, Cam Wallace.
“These flights have been very popular with our customers and we’re looking forward to continuing the service alongside our future nonstop options between Sydney and New York with Project Sunrise.”
Project Sunrise will see Qantas operate super long haul direct flights to two key destinations in the Northern Hemisphere – London and New York. New 238-seat A350-1000 aircraft will be used to service these routes, offering six first class suites, 52 business class suites, 40 premium economy seats and 140 economy seats.
The nonstop flights will cut travel time by up to four hours compared to one-stop services.
In February, Qantas said it expected to receive its first A350-1000 aircraft in the second half of 2026.
“This week also marks the return of our A380 to [the] Sydney-Dallas [route] and [the] Dreamliner [aircraft] to Brisbane-Los Angeles, offering more premium seats for customers travelling between Australia and the US,” said Wallace.
“This year, we’ve seen more Americans wanting to travel to Australia, so we’re pleased to be giving them even more reasons to visit and connect onto our extensive domestic network across the country.”
“We also know how much our Australian customers value premium travel options and through our partnership with American Airlines, there are plenty of options to connect seamlessly to destinations right across the United States.”
Both the rise in premium seats and the additional Sydney-New York flights are a boon for the business events industry, making travel for conferences and incentives on either continent both more accessible and more comfortable.
New Zealand’s business events industry also stands to benefit from the increased frequency on the New York flights, with the Auckland stop.
