The Manhattan skyline will greet flyers barely 16 hours after passengers take off from Auckland on planned Dreamliner flights. Photo / 123RF
The Manhattan skyline will greet flyers barely 16 hours after passengers take off from Auckland on planned Dreamliner flights. Photo / 123RF
Qantas plans to bounce back from three years of massive losses with a direct challenge to Air New Zealand on the Auckland-New York route.
The airline today posted its third straight loss of more than NZ$1 billion, attributing its woes to Delta, Omicron and high costs from restarting after lockdowns.
But Qantas also announced a new Auckland-New York route starting next June on the 787 Dreamliner.
The Sydney-Auckland-New York flights go on sale today.
The immense journey from New Zealand's biggest city to New York took about 16-and-a-quarter hours.
Premium economy on an Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner during a late 2019 flight from Auckland to Seoul. Photo / Dean Purcell.
"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," Joyce 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," he added.
Qantas said it would expand transtasman flights too.
Currently, six daily Qantas services flew from Auckland to the eastern seaboard's three biggest cities.
But from next June there'd be 11 daily flights from Auckland to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Qantas also promised a complete upgrade of its Auckland lounge.
A Qantas Dreamliner lands at Sydney after a non-stop flight from New York in October 2019. Within a few months, the Covid-19 pandemic brought global travel to a standstill. Photo / James D Morgan
The airline had a dismal year but said with lockdowns and major Covid-19 outbreaks receding into history, it was poised to bounce back.
"With the existential crisis posed by the pandemic now over, the group is focused on responding to current operational challenges."
The company said it was lifting its game on call centre wait times, cancellation rates and mishandled bag rates.
It said all these performance measures were heading back to levels comparable with pre-Covid rates.
Qantas in the past week resorted to offering frequent flyers A$50 travel credits in a bid to win back favour after a cavalcade of complaints.
The company today posted an underlying loss before tax of A1.86b ($2.08b) and statutory loss before tax of A$1.19b.
Underlying ebitda was A$281 million and Qantas said net debt fell to A$3.94b, below target range.
The airline also promised a big upgrade to staff travel benefits.
Mark Lister, Craigs Investment Partners' head of private wealth, said the Qantas New York flight announcement should be good news for travellers.
"There's nothing wrong with healthy competition. What it does tell you is that both firms see it as an opportunity, and it confirms that it was a sensible move by Air New Zealand."
Direct Auckland-New York flights with Air New Zealand start on September 17.
The airline had hoped the ultra-long range service would begin in 2020 but the pandemic thwarted those plans.
Dame Therese Walsh, Air New Zealand chair, today said the company was preparing for the launch of direct flights to JFK International Airport.
Walsh said the airline was also completing designs for its own new Boeing 787 Dreamliner cabin experience.
Air New Zealand posted a net loss of NZ$591 million in the year to June 30.
The airline blamed its loss on soaring labour and fuel expenses and the stifling impact on flights from lockdowns, although its revenue rose from $2.517b to $2.734b.
