Air NZ resumes San Francisco route, announces restart dates for Honolulu, Houston

Air New Zealand has announced it has restarted flying direct to San Francisco on Thursday and will resume direct services to Honolulu on July 4 and to Houston on July 7. The ramping up of international services is happening as COVID-19 restrictions are eased, with the new dates announced just a day after quarantine-free trans-Tasman flights restarted and end dates for vaccination requirements were announced. The newly announced North American routes add to Air NZ's currently operating direct services to Los Angeles and Vancouver, while the new direct New York route launches in September. Other airlines are also increasing their services to and from Aotearoa. Air NZ will depart Auckland for San Francisco three times per week at 1:05pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The services will operate on Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The airline will fly both the Honolulu and Houston services three times per week as well. "Recommencing services across our North America routes as the border reopens is another step towards the gradual resumption of flights to destinations across our international network," said the Air NZ Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty. "San Francisco is a year-round destination for Kiwis and equally, an important departure point for Americans looking to visit New Zealand and Australia."<br/>