Air NZ to fly New York non-stop

AIR New Zealand’s new direct flights between Auckland and New York (TD breaking news) will see the carrier “accelerate its ambitions for North America,” according to acting CEO Jeff McDowall.

Announcing the thrice weekly Boeing 787-9 services this morning, McDowall said visitor growth to New Zealand was strongest from North America, and the performance of the new service to Chicago was exceeding expectations.

The new route will utilise aircraft freed up by the cessation of the airline’s Los AngelesLondon services, which will also see the closure of Air NZ’s UK crew base and sales operation.

“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,” McDowall said.

He said the decision to suspend the long-running London service had been difficult, but market dynamics had affected performance in recent years.

“Today Kiwis have more than twice the number of ways to fly to London than a decade ago, and preferences have changed.

“Less than 7% of all airline travellers between Auckland and London chose to fly via Los Angeles last year,” he said.

McDowall said it was important to focus on markets with the greatest opportunity for longterm profitable growth.

“Air New Zealand is strongest when operating direct flights to and from our home base, and this reset will put us in the best possible position to take advantage of increasing demand across the Pacific Rim.”

Tickets for the New York flights will go on sale shortly, subject to landing slot confirmation.