Why I Don’t Like the New Qantas Flight From JFK to Australia via Auckland

In December 2024, I tried Qantas’ new solution for traveling from New York to Sydney. After scrapping the previous route through Los Angeles (LAX), Qantas has started a new Kangaroo Route¹ from New York (JFK) to Auckland (AKL), connecting onward to Sydney (SYD).

Having flown both routes before, I far prefer transiting through Los Angeles, and I didn’t enjoy the Auckland experience as much.

Let’s review the things you need to know about taking the Qantas Kangaroo Route from New York to Sydney.

1. You Land at 4:55 in the Morning

When you take this route, you’re taking the same number of segments as going through Los Angeles, but instead of transiting there, you’re transiting through Auckland. The first flight is your longest, with a time of around 17 hours and 35 minutes. You leave New York at 7:20 p.m. and arrive in Auckland 2 days later, at 4:55 a.m.

This, of course, is absurdly early, and you’re getting into Auckland before most people wake up on the ground. The arrival time, timed with the jet lag you’ll inevitably experience, makes for an uncomfortable layover and an even tougher chance at trying to recover from that jet lag.

You’ll depart Auckland at 6:45 a.m. and arrive in Sydney at 8:20 a.m. The good news is that you’ll have a full day in Sydney, though this arrival time is similar to other nonstop routes directly from the U.S.

To compare, the Qantas service out of Los Angeles leaves at 11:10 p.m. and gets into Sydney at 7:30 a.m. With the transit through Auckland, you’ve woken up early, need to transit security, and still arrive in Sydney later than if you had taken the flight from Los Angeles. Qantas once offered its own wide-body aircraft from New York to Los Angeles, but now the only way to get across the country nonstop on this route on the Oneworld alliance is to take an American Airlines A321T.

The transit experience at Los Angeles is infinitely better. Not only do you land at a normal hour, but there’s no transfer security, much better lounge offerings, and the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX is a fantastic place to walk around, eat, or stretch your legs before a flight.

2. Transit Security at Auckland

When you land in Auckland at around 5 a.m., you exit the aircraft and proceed through transit security. Similar to the security you go through at the start of your journey, you need to empty your belongings and electronics into a bin, put your baggage through an X-ray machine, and walk through the metal detector.

During my transit, there were no crowds (thanks to the early hour), and, luckily enough, I was in business class, so I was one of the first off the plane and into security. But if you’re in economy class or much further back in the plane, I imagine the line to go through security could be much worse.

With the old series of flights through Los Angeles, such as Melbourne (MEL) to Los Angeles, you did not have to go through any security in LA. Once you landed, you exited the plane, headed to the lounge, and never once had to go back through security. While doing security a second time is a minor inconvenience, it’s another opportunity where you may accidentally leave something behind, and a process you surely don’t want to go through when you’re bleary-eyed early in the morning.

3. Lounge Access Isn’t Stellar

Once you’re through security in Auckland, you can head to the lounge if you’re eligible. In Auckland, there is both a Qantas Business Lounge and Qantas First Lounge. The Qantas Business Lounge is accessible to guests in business class or Oneworld Sapphire customers, and the First Lounge is accessible to Oneworld Emerald customers. Qantas does not operate a first class cabin to or from Auckland, so though the lounge is branded as first class, there aren’t actually any first class cabins to or from the island nation.

Both lounges are typical Qantas clubs similar to domestic, with a self-service bar and buffet area, but nothing even remotely close to the renowned Qantas Business and First lounges like you find in Sydney. They’re certainly acceptable and a fine way to pass the morning, but they’re nothing earth-shattering by any means.

By the time we landed and cleared security, there was about a 2-hour wait until the next plane to Sydney, so there was plenty of time to grab a bite to eat and shower, though both tasks were definitely made difficult by the early hour.

4. You Get 3 Meals

With the Qantas service from Los Angeles, you typically get 2 full meals: a dinner after departure and then a breakfast service on arrival. With the flight from New York via Auckland, you actually get 3 meals. This isn’t a reason to take this flight specifically, but it’s worth noting so that you can pace your eating on the journey.

Upon takeoff from New York, you receive a full dinner service, complete with appetizer, main course, and dessert. But you won’t see a meal again until you’re approaching New Zealand, where you receive a full breakfast. If you’re hungry in the middle, there are hot and cold snacks, but it won’t be a normal meal service.

Once you take off from New Zealand, you’re served a second breakfast, which is smaller than the first breakfast and reminiscent of what you’d receive on one of Qantas’ domestic flights. It’s a lighter portion than the one you get flying into Auckland and features a main course and side, along with a beverage. The flight from New Zealand to Sydney is about 3 hours long, so 1 meal is perfectly fine, but it’s also the third meal you receive on this mammoth journey, not counting any food you eat in the lounges!

5. You Can Connect to Other Flights in Auckland

One of the downsides of the old connection through Los Angeles was that you could only connect to 3 destinations in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane (BNE).

The new transit in Auckland actually opens up the opportunity for additional connections. While most passengers will likely be going on to Sydney, since it’s the biggest city, Qantas also flies from Auckland to Perth (PER) and Adelaide (ADL) (starting October 2025). Perth is the country’s fourth-largest city and is located in Western Australia, so this connection is a great way to head directly there without an additional stop in Sydney.

Jetstar, a partner of Qantas, also flies to Brisbane, Christchurch (CHC), Dunedin (DUD), Gold Coast (OOL), Melbourne, Queenstown (ZQN), Rarotonga (RAR), Sunshine Coast (MCY), Sydney, and Wellington (WLG), providing you with many more flight options.

Of course, you’re also welcome to connect on any carrier not in Oneworld, but doing so would be at your own risk. For example, if you decided to fly onward on Air New Zealand, that would be on 2 separate tickets. Once you arrive in Auckland, you’ll need to reclaim your bags and then recheck them in for your next flight. If you did decide to fly on a non-partner airline, your routing wouldn’t be protected, so if the flight to Auckland is delayed, it may impact other tickets you have booked.

Final Thoughts

Qantas is making preparations to announce new nonstop flights from New York to Sydney on specially fitted A350 aircraft that can make the journey without refueling (known as Project Sunrise). At almost a day in the air, the flight will no doubt be grueling, especially for those not in a premium cabin, and will be a far different experience than on the flights Qantas operates today through Auckland. If I were to do this routing again, I’d much prefer to go through Los Angeles to have a better-timed flight, more rest, and an upgraded lounge experience.