Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific will operate from the brand-new Terminal 6 at New York’s JFK Airport when the first five gates open to passengers in early 2026.
In addition, Cathay Pacific will open a nearly 10,000sqf lounge at Terminal 6 – its first dedicated lounge in the New York market and its second in the United States following San Francisco.
It has been reported that Cathay Pacific is close to securing fifth freedom rights to operate up to twice daily London-JFK flights from October although there has been no confirmation from the airline.
JFK Airport’s new Terminal 6 will be a small boutique terminal with just 10 gates, including nine for widebody aircraft.
Cathay Pacific says its customers can look forward to Terminal 6’s digital-first, boutique guest experience, with a less than 5-minute average walk from the TSA security checkpoint exit to its gates.
“This represents a huge milestone in Cathay Pacific’s 28 years of connecting New York with our home, Hong Kong and from 1 July it will be 20 years since we commenced our regular non-stop service.
It has long been our ambition to provide our customers a signature Cathay Pacific airport experience at JFK. We are delighted about our partnership with JFK Millennium Partners, which will make this dream a reality,” said Cathay Pacific senior vice president for the Americas, Chris van den Hooven.
Cathay Pacific has been a pioneer in connecting New York and Hong Kong since its inaugural flights in 1996, which initially made a stop in Vancouver.
On 1 July 2004, the airline launched regular scheduled nonstop service for the first time with its Airbus A340-600 aircraft, skipping the Vancouver fuel stop.
Today, Cathay Pacific operates three flights a day from Kennedy airport’s Terminal 8 to Hong Kong using Airbus A350 and Boeing 777 widebody aircraft, including a dedicated first class service, which was reinstated on 31 March 2024.
