Qantas’ 18-Hour Nonstop Flights To New York Go On Sale Next August

Sydney To New York In Around 18 Hours

Qantas estimates that the new flight will take around 18 hours, eliminating the intermediate stop currently required when flying between Australia’s east coast and New York.

The airline currently operates daily Sydney-New York flights via Auckland. Going nonstop should cut around three hours from the fastest current journey.

Qantas has been flying to New York for seven decades. Qantas first reached the city in 1958 on its inaugural round-the-world service. That journey from Sydney required stops in Fiji, Honolulu and San Francisco.

“New York has always captured the imagination, and for generations, reaching it from Australia has meant breaking up the journey somewhere along the way,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said.

“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.”

A Special Airbus Built For Flights Of Up To 22 Hours

Qantas will operate Project Sunrise with 12 specially configured Airbus A350-1000ULRs.

Airbus has modified the A350-1000 to handle missions lasting up to 22 hours. The aircraft has an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank and can fly more than 16,000 kilometers nonstop.

Qantas will install only 238 seats across four cabins. The relatively low-density configuration provides more passenger space while helping manage aircraft weight on exceptionally long flights.

The cabin includes six First suites, 52 Business suites, 40 Premium Economy seats and 140 Economy seats.

The airline has also installed a dedicated Wellbeing Zone between Premium Economy and Economy to help passengers manage the strain of longer flights. Qantas designed it as an area where passengers can stand, stretch, move and hydrate.

“Flying these distances is only worth doing if our customers arrive feeling their best,” Hudson said.

Qantas developed the Project Sunrise cabin with researchers and sleep specialists, incorporating lighting, meal timing and other features intended to help passengers cope with ultra-long-haul flying.

Qantas Has Already Put The New A350 Through Extreme Tests

The first Qantas A350-1000ULR recently completed a nonstop Melbourne-Toulouse flight lasting 24 hours and 24 minutes as part of its test program, which Qantas describes as a record for a commercial airliner. It is scheduled for delivery in April 2027, subject to certification and regulatory approvals.

That followed earlier long-distance flight testing in July, with the first A350-1000ULR’s nonstop Toulouse-Melbourne test flight.

Airbus has also subjected the cabin to extensive environmental testing. Its engineers used more than 1,000 sensors and heat-generating passenger dummies to measure cabin temperatures and airflow.

Qantas pilots have now started training on Australia’s first A350 simulator in Sydney. More than 360 pilots and 1,200 cabin crew are expected to be trained by the time all 12 Project Sunrise aircraft arrive.

Qantas Sees Growing Demand For Nonstop Flights

Qantas believes travelers are increasingly willing to spend more time on one aircraft if it eliminates a connection.

The airline says U.S. visitor arrivals to Australia are up 5% year over year, while demand on its New York services has nearly doubled since 2023.

According to Qantas research, between February and May 2026, travelers intending to book long-haul nonstop flights increased from 58% to 70%. A preference for nonstop reached 80% among premium travelers.

Qantas already has considerable experience testing that proposition. Since 2018, almost two million passengers have flown its nonstop long-haul routes from Perth to London, Rome and Paris, as well as Melbourne to Dallas and Auckland to New York.

Qantas says these routes have recorded the highest customer satisfaction scores on its international network.

With Project Sunrise, Qantas bets that instead of spending extra hours connecting through another airport, passengers will want to stay aboard the same aircraft for around 18 hours.

Beginning next August, travelers will finally learn how much Qantas will charge for that convenience.