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Air NZ said Tuesday it will begin historic nonstop service 3 times a week between Chicago O’Hare International and Auckland, New Zealand Nov 30. United Airlines will codeshare on the new route, which will cover some 8,198 miles. The new Air NZ service will be the first-ever nonstop from Chicago to the South Pacific region. ORD-AKL will become one of the longer routes now flown in the world — requiring 15 hours to fly from Auckland to Chicago, and 16 hours from Chicago back to Auckland. United's extensive route system throughout the Midwest is expected to help funnel traffic to the new Chicago-Auckland route. The announcement of Air NZ’s entry into the Chicago market coincided with the news that United will extend its seasonal service between San Francisco and Auckland to year-round beginning in April 2019. <br/>

LOT’s first Boeing 787-9 will be used both to service the carrier’s transatlantic routes and to open new sectors, the airline’s CE Rafał Milczarski said as the first 787-9 arrived in Warsaw March 23. The aircraft will go into service by the end of the month on the Warsaw-Chicago sector, one of the airline’s most heavily trafficked routes. The second and third -9s, scheduled to arrive later this year, will be used to supplement the existing fleet of 8smaller 787-8s on the New York and Toronto runs, as well as to Seoul. The fourth and final 787-9 will arrive in 2019. The new aircraft will have a 3 class, 294-seat layout, providing 42 more seats than the 787-8s. LOT’s existing 787-8s are used on services to New York JFK, New York Newark, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing. <br/>