New York means a new look in Qantas business class

New planes, new pyjamas in business class and a new menu from front to back: Qantas is pulling out all the stops for the launch of its almost non-stop flights to New York on June 14.

Those flights will run from Sydney to Auckland to New York, with that final leg taking around 16 hours, in a route which skips the long-standing Los Angeles stopover and the seperate LA-NY leg which Qantas axed in 2020.

And they’ll set the stage for true non-stop flights between Sydney and New York expected from late 2025 as part of the ambitious Project Sunrise.

In the early months of the Sydney-Auckland-New York flights, business class passengers on both legs will slip into new limited-edition pyjamas from Australian designer Rebecca Vallance (although Melbourne-born Paris-based Martin Grant remains in charge of the airline’s first class PJs.) 

Qantas New York pyjamas, amenity kits

Made from a soft textured marle cotton, the French navy PJs combine a monogram of Qantas’ iconic Flying Kangaroo Roo over a New York heart containing Vallance’s art deco Avenue Astoria Collection print, flanked by the QF3 and QF4 flight numbers.

“Australian designers are so well travelled,” explains Phil Capps, Qantas’ Executive Manager of Product and Service, “so when we partner with them, they actually know what’s fundamentally important, from the structure of the suits, how to do hems, how to do necklines, whether or not to do tags.”

Complementing the stylish sleeper suites, which will be handed out on board in M/L and L/XL sizes, will be a matching ‘RV x Qantas’ amenity kit and eye mask. 

Qantas New York menu

Clad in those comfy PJs, business class flyers will tuck into a special ‘New York-inspired’ menu from Qantas’ super chef Neil Perry.

“New York does food its own way and the result is a melting pot of amazing flavours which we are excited to incorporate across our menus, using some amazing Australian produce to put our own spin on some of New York’s most famous food experiences.”

Bagels, pretzels or hot dogs? Expect a 'New York-inspired menu' en route to the Big Apple.

Some of the inflight dining highlights will include

• NY bagel with lox, cream cheese, capers and lemon
• Reuben sandwich
• New York-style spaghetti and meatballs
• General Tso chicken with smashed cucumber salad, steamed rice and broccolini 
• Beef hot dog with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard 
• Seared beef fillet with creamed spinach and baked potato with sour cream and chives 
• Pecan pie with crème fraiche 
• New York-style baked cheesecake with blueberry compote

General Tso chicken with smashed cucumber salad, steamed rice and broccolini.

On the ground, the Qantas first class lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland will feature “a New York inspired dish of the day” across June, along with Manhattan Spritz and Garibaldi cocktails.

As previously reported, meals in premium economy and economy  are also gettimg their own upgrade as part of a network-wide initiative across all domestic and international routes. 

A fresh Boeing is bound the Big Apple

The Sydney-Auckland-New York marathon will be undertaken by one of three new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which after a prolonged pandemic pause have been making their way from Seattle to Sydney.

They sport the same fit-out as their siblings, with 42 lie-flat beds in business class and 28 premium economy recliners.

Qantas' Boeing 787 business class.

As with the other red-tailed Dreamliners, the first row in each of the two business class cabins is the place to be for maximum legroom, especially in the middle seats (those are 2E, 2F, 10E and 10F) which have a larger footwell set into the bulkhead wall.

Want maximum legroom on the Sydney-New York marathon?

The 23-hour marathon

The New York flights will inherit the QF3/QF4 flight numbers which used to adorn the route when it had a stopover in Honolulu, and serve as the US equivalent to the flagship QF1/QF2 flight numbers attached to the Sydney-London route.

• QF3 will depart Sydney every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 9.30am, arriving into Auckland at 2.35pm; it will then be wheels-up for New York at 4.35pm, reaching JFK airport at 4.50pm the same day for a total travel time of just over 21 hours
• QF4 will depart New York on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 7.30pm, reaching Auckland at 5am two days later (thanks, International Dateline) with a 7am departure for the final leg to arrive into Sydney at 8.40am – the total travel time is almost 23 hours, with the New York-Auckland trek scheduled at a bum-numbing 17½ hours

Note that as of October 30 2023 there’ll be an additional Sydney-New York flight every Monday. 

Auckland’s upgrade from being just one city on the network map to becoming the Big Apple stopover will also see the Qantas Auckland lounge finally overhauled into a larger luxe-themed space, although work on the radically revamped lounge won’t be completed until mid-2024.

How the Qantas Auckland lounge will look after its extensive makeover.

And ahead of the flight from New York, business class travellers and frequent flyers will enjoy a visit to one of three JFK lounges jointly operated by Oneworld members American Airlines and British Airways at Terminal 8.

The luxurious Chelsea Lounge at JFK Terminal 8.

These bear unique names shared by New York and London neighbourhoods:

• the first class Chelsea Lounge features an à la carte dining room, fireside lounge, luxury shower suites and nap beds, although at the time of writing Executive Traveller understands there is no arrangement to make the Chelsea Lounge available to Qantas Chairman’s Lounge members
• the chic Soho Lounge will welcome Qantas Platinum and Platinum One-grade frequent flyers
• the Greenwich Lounge – which is the former American Airlines’ Flagship Lounge – will be the go-to for business class passengers, Qantas Gold frequent flyers and Qantas Club members

The chic Soho Lounge at JFK Terminal 8.

Read: Here are the New York lounges which Qantas travellers will use

Qantas’ return to New York – in pre-pandemic times the airline flew a Boeing 787 between LAX and JFK for connecting passengers, although it was not permitted to sell stand-alone tickets for this dedicated cross-country leg – won’t just be for Sydneysiders.

As with its flights from Perth to London and Rome, Qantas expects travellers from other Australian cities – mainly Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide – to fly to Auckland where they can the New York-bound Boeing 787. 

But it’s not just about Aussies flying to New York. “A huge amount of the American traffic actually likes to do dual destinations for leisure travel,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce noted when the flights were first announced, “so that allows us to tap into that – have a stop in Auckland and then come onto Australia, which we think will be really big.”

“We can also pick up passengers that are going out from Auckland or going to Auckland (so) 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.”

Kiwis will indeed be able to choose between identical Auckland-New York flights offered by Qantas and Air New Zealand.

AirNZ pioneered the LAX-skipping New York route in September 2022, although its Dreamliners are seriously handicapped by an out-dated business class seat that’s not due to be replaced until September 2024 with all-new Business Premier seats and Business Premier Luxe suites.

Coming in September 2024: Air New Zealand's new Business Premier suites.

Read: Business class to New York – Qantas vs Air New Zealand 

For his part, Joyce expects the New York via Auckland route will remain after the late 2025 launch of those non-stop Project Sunrise flights.

“When we do Sydney-New York (direct), we take it that there probably will (still) be a market for Auckland-New York, as there’s a lot of routes we take to be complementary to each other, and potentially serve a slightly different market… we’re optimistic that this will be maintained even post-Sunrise.”

Joyce believes the route will retain particularly strong appeal because it skips the torturous Los Angeles stopover where travellers have to go through customs and immigration to collect and then re-check their bags before lining up to through security and back into the lounge.

“We see significant advantages over LAX because Auckland is a lot better and easier airport to connect through.”