Update 20/01/2020: Air New Zealand has released pricing and officially kicked off taking bookings for the first flight on October 29th 2020.
Kiwis can now fly on the only direct Australasian flight to New York. Bookings can be made up to 350 days in advance, through to early January in 2021. And for $35 prices can be held for 3 days on the booking page on Air New Zealand.
Pricing varies widely depending on whether flights fall within the holiday period, but a search on the Air New Zealand website shows the pricing is competitive to other options for a random week in November 2020:
| Date | Flight | Route | Economy | Premium Economy | Business |
| 5/11/2020 | NZ2 | Auckland to New York | $847 | $2,346 | $3,997 |
| 12/11/2020 | NZ1 | New York to Auckland | $989 | $2,364 | $6,474 |
Skycouch and the Economy Stretch products will be available in the economy cabin. Further forward Premium Economy and Business Premium will be available on the 787-9 aircraft.
Update 24/10/2019: Air New Zealand has announced the inaugural flight will be Auckland to Newark on 29th October 2020. The schedule is as follows:
| Flight: | Operated by: | Aircraft type: | Departs: | Arrives: | Frequency: |
| NZ2 | Air NZ | 787-9 Dreamliner | Auckland 19:55 | New York 17:35 | Mon, Thur, Sat |
| NZ1 | Air NZ | 787-9 Dreamliner | New York 19:05 | Auckland 06:45 + 2 | Mon, Thur, Sat |
Air New Zealand has announced that it will launch a non-stop service between Auckland and New York using its latest configuration Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
At a flight time of 15hr 40m northbound and 17hr 40m southbound, the 14,178 kilometre route will be Air New Zealand’s longest and the fifth-longest in the world by distance.
The announcement comes just days after Qantas completed a much-hyped New York to Sydney ‘research flight’ with a view to commencing a direct service to the Big Apple from 2022.
The flight schedule
Air New Zealand will fly between Auckland and its alliance partner United Airlines’ New York hub Newark Liberty International Airport three times weekly, year-round.
The aircraft
Air New Zealand’s 787-9 ‘Code 2’ aircraft features a 275-seat configuration with a higher proportion of Business Premier and Premium Economy seating than other variants of the Dreamliner.
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Tickets for Air New Zealand’s New York service will go on sale soon, subject to regulatory approvals and landing slot confirmation.
To direct capacity to faster-growing markets, the airline has also made the difficult decision to withdraw from its daily Los Angeles-London service from October 2020.
New York will be Air New Zealand’s sixth US destination. Air New Zealand also serves Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and Hawaii
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About The Author
Michael Coates