In case you missed it: Air NZ announces new 16 hour long-haul Auckland-Chicago flights

March 28, 2018

House of Travel's Brent Thomas discussed the potential new route on TVNZ1’s Breakfast today.

Auckland Airport has welcomed the announcement by Air New Zealand today that it will launch a direct, year-round service between Auckland and Chicago at the end of the year.

From November 30, 2018 Air New Zealand will fly three times per week between Auckland and Chicago with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The new flights will provide the first non-stop service between Auckland and Chicago. Chicago, Illinois, is the third largest city in the United States with a population of almost 10 million people in the wider metropolitan area.

Scott Tasker, Auckland Airport's general manager aeronautical commercial said in a statement today: "The announcement is great news for New Zealand and will introduce a new region of North America to non-stop flights to New Zealand for the first time.

"The new service will provide more than 85,000 seats on the route and inject around $70 million annually into the New Zealand economy.

"This flight will also provide a convenient service for New Zealand and Australian travellers flying from or via Auckland to the north-eastern United States and Canada."

Chicago O'Hare Airport is the major hub of Air New Zealand's partner United Airlines, who offers connectivity to around 100 cities in the north-eastern United States region and Canada such as New York, Boston, Toronto and Montreal.

At over 13,000km one way, this will be Air New Zealand's longest route with a flight time of approximately 15 hours northbound and just over 16 hours southbound.

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