Air New Zealand’s Gonna Do Non-Stop Flights To NY So You Better Grab An Aisle Seat

Air New Zealand

Well, Air New Zealand has today announced it will launch a non-stop service between Auckland and New York in October next year. And to be honest, I’m not mad about it. Sure beats a chaotic stopover in LA.

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At a flight time of [checks notes] 15 hours and 40 minutes northbound and 17 hours and 40 minutes southbound, the 14,178 kilometre trip will be the airline’s longest route. Not to mention, it’s the fifth longest in the world.

The Kiwi airline will run the route three times weekly, year-round, using its 787-9 Dreamliner for the job between Auckland and Newark Liberty International Airport. If the plane name means nothing to you, the aircraft has a 275-seat configuration with more Business Premiere and Premium Economy seating. Sounds solid.

Air New Zealand says tickets will go on sale soon so stay tuned.

Today’s announcement also revealed the airline’s decision to axe its daily Los-Angeles-London service to focus more on where the $$$ is.

“Visitor growth to New Zealand is strongest from North America and performance of our new service to Chicago is exceeding expectations,” the airline’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Jeff McDowall says. “New York has been an aspiration for Air New Zealand for some time and withdrawal from the Atlantic will free up aircraft capacity to make this milestone a reality.”

The binning means the loss of around 130 jobs from its London-based cabin crew and around 25 roles in the sales and grounds team.

Air New Zealand’s Los Angeles-London service will continue until October 2020, and no tickets will be sold beyond that date.

Meanwhile, Qantas just casually tested a direct New York to Sydney flight over the weekend. It took a record 19 hours and 16 minutes, which is roughly enough time to binge all Harry Potter movies… if you skip a couple of bits.

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