Air New Zealand flight to slash three hours off New York travel

Air New Zealand says its new non-stop Auckland-New York flights will shorten travel time to The Big Apple by about three hours. The airline intends to launch the first non-stop service between New Zealand and New York on October 29 and fly into partner United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport. The three times weekly flight will take over the mantle of the airline’s longest route and goes on sale in November using the flight numbers NZ1 southbound and NZ2 northbound. The new flights will be in the airline’s 275-seat “code 2’ configuration and will include its new Stretch extra-legroom economy product. READ: Relief for tall pax as Air New Zealand introduces Economy Stretch. NZ2 will depart Auckland at 7:55 pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive in New York at 5:35 pm. The return trip leaves New York at 7:05 pm to arrive in Auckland at 6:45 pm. Flight time is expected to be 15 hours 40 minutes northbound and 17 hours 40 minutes southbound. The new service comes in the wake of the airline’s flights to Chicago and is part of a push to increase its reach in the important US market. Newark, like Chicago, is a hub for AirNZ alliance partner United Airlines which offers more than 400 daily flights across the US from the East Coast gateway. Air New Zealand acting chief executive Jeff McDowall said the new flight would put New Zealand within easy reach of New York and the eastern seaboard. . “It’s terrific we can make a seamless journey a reality for Kiwis wanting to experience New York and Americans keen to explore New Zealand and we’ll work with United to grow the route and visitor numbers in both directions,”  he said. United senior vice president alliances John Gebo said the US carrier’s alliance with Air New Zealand allowed it to provide more options for travel between the two countries than any other airline. “We are excited to offer our shared customers another option when planning travel to beautiful New Zealand while conveniently connecting visitors to more than 90 destinations across the United States with just one-stop connections at our New York hub,”  he said. A sadder impact of the new flight is Air New Zealand’s decision to can its historic Los Angeles-London service. READ: Air New Zealand to axe LA-London and fly Auckland-New York non-stop