Air New Zealand launches 17-hour flight to New York City

Air New Zealand launches 17-hour flight to New York City

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(CNN) – For the first time in its history, Air New Zealand offers direct flights between Auckland and New York City.

The ultra-long-haul route will be launched on 17 September 2022 from Auckland and is yet another exciting news signaling New Zealand’s gradual reopening of global tourism.

The flights from Auckland will operate as NZ2, and those coming from New York’s JFK Airport will be numbered NZ1. These figures symbolize the importance of the new route for Air New Zealand (ANZ).

“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,” the airline’s CEO Greg Foran said in a statement.

Each leg will operate three times a week on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Tickets are already on sale on ANZ’s website.

Travelers from New Zealand depart from Auckland Airport (AKL) at 19.40 and then spend 16 hours on board before finally arriving at JFK. Flights departing from JFK for Auckland will clock in at 17 hours and 35 minutes, adding it to the list of the world’s longest flights.

“We have worked incredibly hard over the last few years to make this ultra-long-distance service a reality,” Foran added. “To ensure that customers arrive in New York and feel fresh, we have thought a lot about the experience on board, and teams work around the clock to ensure this becomes a great flying experience.”

Currently, the longest passenger flight in the world between Singapore and JFK operates with Singapore Airlines. It covers 9,534 miles and spends about 18 hours in the air.

Also in the battle for one of the world’s longest routes is the flight from Perth in Western Australia to London on Qantas. It resumes in late March after a pandemic-related break.

Qantas’ long-dreamed of a direct flight between Sydney and London, called “Project Sunrise”, will be a 19-hour flight that will easily claim first place when launched. The project was stopped when Covid-19 broke out all over the world.
In an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest late last year, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline plans to review the development of these ultra-long-haul routes by 2022 with a goal of launching in the next two to three years.

The pandemic was responsible for many aviation-related records.

Normally, that flight involves a stopover in Los Angeles, but travel restrictions made it impossible and caused the airline to push the entire trip through without risking a stop.

Air New Zealand already operates several routes between its home country and the United States – direct to Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco – as well as one to Vancouver just north of the border in British Columbia, Canada.

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