One of the world's longest flights will soon be launched by Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand will offer 3x weekly flights between New York and New Zealand as of September 17, 2022. The new flight will operate in both directions on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. New York arriving at 7:55PM. The New York to Auckland flight is departing at 9:55PM and arriving at 7:30AM.Air New Zealand’s Auckland to New York route details
The flight will cover a distance of 8,828 miles in each direction. Air New Zealand will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route.
Air New Zealand initially announced this route, but it was delayed due to the Pandemic. New Zealand has closed its borders for the past two years, but will open them up to Americans in May of 2022.
Air New Zealand will use the NZ1 and NZ2 flight numbers for this. That is not a coincidence. Greg Foran made it clear that this will be Air New Zealand's new flagship route. In the past, Air New Zealand used NZ1 and NZ2 for its service to London.
Air New Zealand will be using a 787-9. The lower density version of the aircraft will have a total of 288 seats. This also includes:
The less dense configuration is needed for this route. Ultra long haul flights rely on premium demand to be profitable, and a more premium aircraft helps keep the weight down, which improves range.
Air New Zealand has 3x weekly flights and it looks like they could operate this route with a single aircraft. It's not likely to happen, but I'm just saying that it's possible.
Air New Zealand is planning to introduce a new business class product. It doesn't seem to be ready for launch. I think New York would be one of the first places to get the plane. I don't expect Air New Zealand's Skynest concept to be on this flight anytime soon.
Air New Zealand was interested in flying to Newark instead of New York. I think Newark made more sense than flying directly to New York. United Airlines has a huge hub at Newark, so this would open up a lot of connecting opportunities.
Air New Zealand chose JFK because they think most of the demand will be from New York rather than connecting.
Air New Zealand's press release about the route references how this route deepens the alliance between Air New Zealand and United Airlines.
Someone needs to let Air New Zealand know that United's only destinations out of JFK are LAX and SFO, and those aren't logical routes for those looking to travel to AKL!
Air New Zealand will be launching a service to New York. The airline will fly Boeing 787-9s from New Zealand to New York. A new route connecting the Big Apple to one of the most beautiful countries in the world is exciting.
In terms of ultra long haul routes, I think it's worth mentioning that Qantas is continuing to work on Project Sunrise, which is the goal of launching nonstop flights from Australia to London and New York.
What do you think of Air New Zealand?
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