Competition sparked North American travel boom
The massive increase in airline competition between Auckland and North America resulted in a record 500,000 people crossing the Pacific Ocean and a sharp drop in fares, figures from Auckland International airport show.
United states airlines, United, Delta and American Airlines, as well as Air Canada along with Qantas, competed with Air New Zealand to destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Dallas, Chicago and Vancouver.
Together the airlines increased the number seats available by 58% between November and February.
Americans made up about half the passengers, up 56% on the previous summer. Most stayed for up to two weeks and spent $6000 per person on average, while Canadian travellers were up 14%.
The number of New Zealanders flying on the North American routes was up 20% and paid 12% less for their seats.
Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker said the mix of new routes and additional carriers had cracked open the North American market, creating airfare competition and driving demand.
“The market is now bigger than it was in 2019,” Tasker said.
Six airlines flew non-stop to seven mainland North American cities from Auckland over summer, and four - Air New Zealand and codeshare partner United, Delta and Qantas - would continue on the route between March and October, he said.
However, Air NZ has suspended its direct service to Chicago from March 31 to October 24 due to a shortage of serviceable
Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines that are fitted to the Boeing 797-9 aircraft, which is affecting airlines around the world.
Tasker said North America was New Zealand’s third biggest inbound tourism market and California had traditionally been a strong market for inbound tourism, he said. Of the 40 million Americans who had New Zealand at the top of their travel bucket list, more than 20% were in California. “We've seen that flow through into traveller numbers with a 180% increase in US nationals on the Los Angeles route this summer.
“Tourism and hospitality are a big part of our country’s economic success, and maintaining frequent, year-round airline capacity to and from our key inbound tourism markets underpins that success,” he said.