Air New Zealand has announced its first flight to New York City will be on 17 September this year. Landing at John F. Kennedy Airport, the airline will operate its flagship Auckland-New York route three times a week, year-round with its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The new service further deepens the alliance between Air New Zealand and United Airlines.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says with international flying on hiatus for two years and the New Zealand border reopening on 2 May to visa-waiver countries, this is the moment Kiwis have been waiting for. “New York is an iconic yet familiar city, a bucket list item. And now for the first time, Kiwis can visit the city of all cities with a non-stop flight. New Zealand lets you slow down – in New York, everything is bigger and faster, it’s exciting and awe inspiring – and it’s now closer than ever. The US has always been a key market for us, and this new route cements our commitment to developing growing tourism opportunities between the two countries. In the six years leading up to Covid, the US visitor numbers to New Zealand doubled and looking at the average spend in New Zealand by US tourists, we estimate that this new route would contribute an additional $65 million per year into the local economy. Traditionally, flight numbers 1 and 2 are used for an airline’s flagship route. And that’s what New York will be – our flagship route.”
Departing Auckland at 7:40pm, customers will enjoy Air New Zealand’s award-winning cabin experience, and literally wake up in the city that never sleeps. “We’ve worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make this ultra-long-haul service a reality – it’s one of the longest routes in the world, at just over 16 hours northbound and 17 and a half hours southbound. To ensure customers arrive in New York feeling refreshed, we’ve put a lot of thought into the onboard experience and teams are working around the clock to make sure this a great flying experience,” Foran said.
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