The new route, announced on Wednesday, will be served three times weekly with Boeing 787-9s that feature Air New Zealand’s premium heavy configuration.
At 7,112nm, Auckland-Chicago will be the airline’s longest nonstop route measured by the Great Circle distance and its first of more than 7,000nm. It will sit 15th on the list of world’s longest routes by distance, just ahead of Emirates Airline’s Dubai-Houston flight (7,098nm) and behind Air Canada’s 7,119nm Melbourne-Vancouver operation.
Currently, there are 21 routes served by 12 airlines with a Great Circle distance of more than 7,000nm. Topping the charts is Doha-Auckland (7,848nm) by Qatar Airways, with Qantas’s Perth-London Heathrow at 7,829nm) in second spot.
Further, Chicago will be Air New Zealand’s fourth destination on the North American mainland alongside Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco in the United States and Vancouver in Canada. The airline also flies to Honolulu, Hawaii, and Buenos Aires, Argentina in South America.
Deep-dish pizza which is basically pie, beautiful architecture, cool gigs, and a diverse culture. ??? Chicago’s got everything you need, and more. Including a non-stop Dreamliner flight from Auckland starting 30 Nov 2018. ? #NewRoute #Chicago #Yess pic.twitter.com/mbBhtO72GG
— Air New Zealand✈️ (@FlyAirNZ) March 27, 2018
In addition to being an attractive destination in its own right, Air New Zealand said Chicago would also offer travellers more convenient connections to destinations in North America, given the city was the largest hub of alliance partner United, which will add its UA airline code to the new flight.
“We expect the addition of Chicago to our network to be an attractive option for Kiwis wanting to explore the city or head on to other North American destinations,” Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said in a statement.
“We’ll be working alongside our colleagues at United Airlines to grow the route and visitor numbers in both directions.”
Air New Zealand has taken delivery of the first of four Boeing 787-9 featuring a premium heavy configuration that offers more flexibility in how it deploys the fleet as markets develop.
The 787-9s to be used to Chicago are configured in what Air New Zealand has termed its “Code 2” cabin layout, comprising 27 seats in business, 33 in premium economy and 215 in economy for a total of 275.
The first of these “Code 2” aircraft arrived in October 2017. Air New Zealand has said previously it planned to take delivery of two 787-9s with the heavier premium configuration in 2017/18, with a further two to follow in 2018/19.
This represented a 20 per cent increase in premium seats compared with the other nine 787-9s already in the fleet, which have 302 seats spread across 18 business and 21 premium economy seats and 263 in economy.
Luxon has said previously the lower seat count of these “Code 2” 787-9s offered the airline more flexibility.
“What we’re identifying is as we grow and build these markets, we are going to put different aircraft on at different times as we see the mix of customers change and evolve and become more premium ultimately,” Luxon told analysts during the company’s full year results presentation on August 22 2017.
“So for the Code 2s, yes, we felt we wanted more premium seats and there’s some opportunities in the number of places around the world.
“It gives us an ability to extend range obviously with a lot less economy passengers on board.”
Luxon has spoken previously about having an aircraft capable of operating nonstop between Auckland and New York (7,642nm).
“By adding Chicago to the Air New Zealand route network, and with United’s increased service between San Francisco and Auckland, we are proud to offer our customers more ways to get between the United States and New Zealand and more connection opportunities in those cities than any other airline in the world,” United international network vice president Patrick Quayle said in a statement.
“Today’s announcements are great examples of the customer benefits that result from the strong, strategic alliance and partnership between United Airlines and Air New Zealand.”
United returned to Auckland in July 2016, ending a 13-year absence in New Zealand.
However, United switched its San Francisco-Auckland flights from a year-round to seasonal service in April 2017 saying at the time the move was designed “in order to better match capacity on the route with seasonal demand”.
It stopped Auckland-New Zealand flights between April 2017 and October 2017, leaving Air New Zealand as the only operator on the route until November 2017, when United’s seasonal flights resumed.
Flight Number/Routing |
Days of operation |
Time of departure |
Time of arrival |
|
NZ26 Auckland-Chicago |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
20:10 |
16:15 |
|
NZ26 Auckland-Chicago |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
20:10 |
17:15 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NZ27 Chicago-Auckland |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
19:10 |
06:30+2 |
|
NZ27 Chicago-Auckland |
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday |
20:10 |
06:30+2 |
