(CNN) — Air New Zealand is the first in its history to offer direct flights between Auckland and New York City.
The ultra-long haul route was launched from Auckland on September 17, 2022, and is another exciting news that New Zealand has gradually resumed tourism around the world.
Flights from Auckland operate as NZ2 and flights from JFK Airport in New York are numbered NZ1. These numbers symbolize how important the new route to Air New Zealand (ANZ) is.
“Traditionally, flight numbers 1 and 2 are used for the airline’s flagship route, and that’s the New York flagship route,” airline CEO Greg Foran said in a statement.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner operates each segment three times a week. Tickets are already on sale on the ANZ website.
Travelers from New Zealand depart Auckland Airport (AKL) at 7:40 pm, spend 16 hours on board and finally arrive at JFK. Flights departing from JFK to Auckland will arrive in 17 hours and 35 minutes and will be added to the list of the longest flights in the world.
“Over the last few years, we’ve been working incredibly hard to make this ultra-long-distance service possible,” Foran added. “We pay a lot of attention to our in-flight experience so that our customers can arrive in New York with a refreshing mood, and the team is working 24 hours a day to make this a great flight experience.”
Currently, the longest passenger flight in the world operates between Singapore Airlines and JFK. It covers 9,534 miles and spends about 18 hours in the air.
Qantas’ flight from Perth, Western Australia to London is also being contested for one of the longest routes in the world. After a pandemic-related pause, it will resume at the end of March.
The direct flight between Sydney and London that Qantas dreamed of is called “Project Sunrise,” and it’s easy to get the number one spot at launch on flights over 19 hours. The project was canceled due to Covid-19 outbreaks around the world. In an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest at the end of last year, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce revisited the development of these ultra-long haul routes in 2022 and will launch them in the next few years. He said he was aiming for that.
The pandemic was the cause of many aviation-related records.
Normally, the flight would include a stopover in Los Angeles, but travel restrictions made it impossible for the airline to proceed with the entire itinerary without risking a stop.
Air New Zealand already operates several itineraries between its home country and the United States that go directly to Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and to Vancouver, just north of the British Columbia border in Canada. increase.