Air New Zealand reveals new launch date for non-stop New York flights

Air New Zealand has announced a new start date for its long-awaited Auckland to New York flights. The first ever non-stop service between New Zealand and New York will depart on September 17, landing at John F. Kennedy Airport. The flights, which will be numbered NZ1 and NZ2, will be among the longest in the world, taking just over 16 hours to New York and 17-and-a-half hours for the return journey. Air New Zealand will operate the route three times a week, year-round, using the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The non-stop flights are now available to book on Air New Zealand’s website, starting from $986 one-way from Auckland to New York and from $993 for the return leg. Details of the service were first revealed in late 2019, with the maiden voyage supposed to take off on October 29, 2020. In early 2020, the airline had been selling tickets for as little as $847 one-way from Auckland to New York. However, the launch was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic, with much of Air New Zealand’s international fleet grounded in the Californian desert. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said with the New Zealand border reopening on May 2 to tourists from visa-waiver countries, this was the moment they had been waiting for.<br/>