Air NZ eyes new China route

Air New Zealand has been assessing a number of Chinese cities as potential destinations, including Chengdu, which is rumoured to become its next new route. The airline's Shanghai-based regional manager for Asia, Scott Carr, wouldn't confirm or deny speculation about a Chengdu service, but said: "There will probably be some news coming in the next couple of days about that." The Centre for Aviation reported last month that representatives of the carrier and New Zealand Government had met with Chengdu's vice-mayor to discuss a direct flight between the capital of the southwestern Sichuan province and Auckland. Should it go ahead, the route - at 10,505km - would be slightly longer than Auckland to Los Angeles, according to the report. Air New Zealand already has daily flights to Shanghai, while Air China operates a Beijing to Auckland service in alliance with the Kiwi carrier. In addition to Chengdu, Carr said Air New Zealand had been eyeing Chinese cities including Chongqing, Wuhan, Wenzhou and Shenzhen. "Clearly Chengdu is a massive catchment area and there is a lot going on there in the aviation space," he said.<br/>