Post by Antonio on Mar 23, 2022 8:43:10 GMT 12
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Air New Zealand will fly non-stop to New York from September, after the pandemic sank plans to fly to the Big Apple in 2020.
Instead of flying into Newark, New Jersey as planned then, the airline will fly into John F. Kennedy Airport. It will fly three times a week, year-round with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft which will be at the edge of its range.
At just over 16 hours northbound and 17 and a half hours southbound, the 14,200km flight is one of the longest in the world. It was to have used its premium-heavy Dreamliners on the route when it first announced in 2019.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran says with international flying on hiatus for two years and the New Zealand border reopening on May 2 to visa-waiver countries, this is the moment Kiwis have been waiting for.
"New York is an iconic yet familiar city, a bucket list item. And now for the first time, Kiwis can visit the city of all cities with a non-stop flight. New Zealand lets you slow down – in New York, everything is bigger and faster, it's exciting and awe-inspiring – and it's now closer than ever."
Foran, whose last job before Air NZ was heading Walmart in the US, said the US has been a key market, and this new route cements the airline's commitment to developing growing tourism opportunities between the two countries.
In the six years leading up to Covid, the US visitor numbers to New Zealand doubled and it is estimated that spending by arrivals would contribute an additional $65 million a year into the local economy.
Air New Zealand will fly non-stop to New York from September, after the pandemic sank plans to fly to the Big Apple in 2020.
Instead of flying into Newark, New Jersey as planned then, the airline will fly into John F. Kennedy Airport. It will fly three times a week, year-round with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft which will be at the edge of its range.
At just over 16 hours northbound and 17 and a half hours southbound, the 14,200km flight is one of the longest in the world. It was to have used its premium-heavy Dreamliners on the route when it first announced in 2019.
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran says with international flying on hiatus for two years and the New Zealand border reopening on May 2 to visa-waiver countries, this is the moment Kiwis have been waiting for.
"New York is an iconic yet familiar city, a bucket list item. And now for the first time, Kiwis can visit the city of all cities with a non-stop flight. New Zealand lets you slow down – in New York, everything is bigger and faster, it's exciting and awe-inspiring – and it's now closer than ever."
Foran, whose last job before Air NZ was heading Walmart in the US, said the US has been a key market, and this new route cements the airline's commitment to developing growing tourism opportunities between the two countries.
In the six years leading up to Covid, the US visitor numbers to New Zealand doubled and it is estimated that spending by arrivals would contribute an additional $65 million a year into the local economy.
