A new way to travel from Sydney to New York unveiled

 

Qantas has unveiled a new way to fly from Sydney to New York - via Auckland. 

The new Sydney-Auckland-New York route is set for take-off in June 2023.

And good news for frequent flyers: there will be two Sydney-Auckland-New York Points Planes in the first week of flying.

Qantas announced today that it will recommence flights to New York's JFK Airport via Auckland from June 14 next year. 

The launch of QF3 and QF4 will see the flying kangaroo return to New York three days a week initially, after a three-year Covid-induced hiatus. 

Flights will be operated using Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with three new aircraft scheduled for delivery next year.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said flying via Auckland would provide better connectivity from more destinations in Australia, before an uninterrupted 16-hour flight to New York.

“We’re back flying to most of our pre-Covid destinations, which is a fantastic achievement by our teams and so important for Australians reconnecting with the rest of the world." he said.

“We can’t wait to return to New York and it’s made possible by the delivery of new aircraft, which have been caught up in delays that have impacted lots of airlines.

“Customer feedback on our direct London and Rome services show how well suited our Dreamliner cabins are to longer international flights like these, which is helped by the fact we designed them with more room and fewer seats than most of our competitors.

“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.”

Sydney-Auckland-New York flights are on sale from today. 

Qantas currently operates six daily services to Auckland from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, which will increase to 11 daily services when the new flight to New York launches.

Qantas said seats across every cabin will be available as a Classic Reward flight on QF3 and QF4 in the first week. 

Tourism industry bounces back

The tourism industry continues to recover at a strong pace around the world.

Globally, destinations welcomed almost three times as many international arrivals in the first quarter of 2022 as during the same period of 2021, with Europe leading the sector’s rebound.

The latest United Nations World Tourism Organization Barometer saw a 182% year-on-year increase in January-March 2022, with destinations worldwide welcoming an estimated 117 million international arrivals compared to 41 million in Q1 2021.

Of the extra 76 million international arrivals for the first three months, about 47 million were recorded in March, showing that the recovery is gathering pace.

UNWTO data shows that during the first quarter of 2022, Europe welcomed almost four times as many international arrivals (+280%) as in Q1 of 2021, with results driven by strong intra-regional demand.

In the Americas arrivals more than doubled (+117%) in the same three months. But arrivals in Europe and the Americas were still 43% and 46% below 2019 levels respectively.

The Middle East (+132%) and Africa (+96%) also saw strong growth in Q1 2022 compared to 2021, but arrivals remained 59% and 61% below 2019 levels respectively.

Asia and the Pacific recorded a 64% increase over 2021 but again, levels were 93% below 2019 numbers as several destinations remained closed to non-essential travel.

Although international tourism remains 61% below 2019 levels, the gradual recovery is expected to continue throughout 2022, as more destinations ease or lift travel restrictions and pent-up demand is unleashed.

As of June 2, 45 destinations (of which 31 are in Europe) had no Covid-19 related restrictions in place. In Asia, an increasing number of destinations have started to ease those restrictions.

Despite these positive prospects, a challenging economic environment coupled with the military offensive of the Russian Federation in Ukraine pose a downside risk to the ongoing recovery of international tourism.

Australia to open up from February 21

Australia's borders will soon be open to all international tourists, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison today revealing February 21 as the opening date after almost two years of doors shut closed.

Morrison stressed that inbound travellers must be double vaccinated if they want to enter Australia, and that state-based caps and quarantine arrangements would still continue as state and territory leaders see fit.

"If you're double vaccinated, we look forward to welcoming you back to Australia," Morrison said.

While borders have been open since late 2021, entry has only been allowed for citizens, permanent residents and their families, with it later expanded to international students, backpackers and migrant workers.

Morrison said the move would be a welcome boost to the tourism sector which had experienced a serious downturn due to the Covid-19 virus variants and loss of foreign visitors.

“I know the tourism industry will be looking forward to that,” he told reporters in the national capital of Canberra.