Flying between Sydney and New York is about to get a little more direct, even if it won’t get much shorter.
Qantas announced September 22 that it will launch nonstop flights between the two cities in mid-2028 as part of its long-planned Project Sunrise. The roughly 18-hour flight will be the first nonstop commercial service between Australia and New York.
Tickets are expected to go on sale in August 2027.
Qantas already flies between Sydney and New York, but the current route stops in Auckland. Removing that stop is expected to cut more than three hours from the total trip.
Qantas Is Building a Plane for Some Very Long Flights
The New York route will use Qantas’ specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULR, with ULR standing for Ultra Long Range. The aircraft will first enter commercial service on nonstop Sydney to London flights in October 2027.
Those flights will spend roughly 20 hours in the air, giving a sense of what Qantas is building these aircraft to do. The airline says the A350-1000ULR can fly for up to 22 hours nonstop.
Qantas is configuring its 12 Project Sunrise aircraft with just 238 seats across first class, business class, premium economy, and economy. The planes will also have an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank to make these ultra-long flights possible.
There’s even a dedicated Wellbeing Zone where passengers can stretch, grab a drink or snack, and follow guided movements on large screens. Spending the better part of a day on an airplane makes that sound a little less gimmicky.
The first aircraft is expected to arrive in April 2027.
New York will be the second confirmed Project Sunrise route after London. Qantas hasn’t released the Sydney to New York schedule or said how frequently it will operate.
There’s also no word yet on what tickets will cost or how many seats might eventually be bookable with Qantas points or through partners such as American Airlines.
Those details are a ways off. But beginning in 2028, getting from Sydney to New York should no longer require landing somewhere in between.
Eighteen hours in a middle seat, on the other hand, is one problem Project Sunrise can’t solve.
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