On October 23, 2019, Air New Zealand announced some major changes to its long-haul network.
It decided to launch non-stop flights between Auckland and Newark in the New York area and to cut its longstanding fifth freedom route between Los Angeles and London in October 2020.
Yesterday, the airline revealed further details about the new ultra long-haul route.
NZ2/1: Auckland – Newark and Back
The new route will operate under flight numbers NZ1 and NZ2 which are currently used on its Auckland – Los Angeles – London service. At 8,810 miles, it will be Air New Zealand’s longest route as well as the sixth longest route in the world.
The first flight from Auckland (AKL) to Newark (EWR) will operate on October 29, 2020, and from then on, the flights will be operated three times a week with the following schedule:
- NZ2 / AKL – EWR / 7:55PM – 5:35PM (Mondays, Thursdays & Saturdays)
- NZ1 / EWR – AKL / 7:05PM – 06:45AM+2 (Mondays, Thursdays & Saturdays)
Air New Zealand will use its Boeing 787-9 aircraft in a premium-heavy, 275-seat configuration on the flights which, according to Jeff McDowall, the airline’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, will:
…cut travel time by around three hours, putting New Zealand in easy reach of New York and the US Eastern Seaboard.
Newark will be the airline’s sixth destination in the United States after Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and Honolulu.
In addition to the point-to-point traffic between the two airports, passengers will be able to connect to United’s extensive network out of Newark and Air New Zealand’s network out of Auckland.
Withdrawal from the Los Angeles – London Route
While Air New Zealand didn’t specify the date of its last flight from Los Angeles to London and back, considering that the flights operate under the same flight number as its planned flights to Newark, it will be before October 29, 2020.
As for the reason that the airline decided to cut the route, McDowall – pointing to the growth of the Middle Eastern carriers since the fifth freedom flight was started in 1982 among other things – said that:
Today Kiwis have more than twice the number of ways to fly to London than a decade ago and preferences have changed. Less than seven percent of all airline travellers between Auckland and London chose to fly via Los Angeles last year.
He also mentioned the increasing competition on transatlantic routes noting that:
…the Atlantic has become one of the most hotly contested routes in the world and Air New Zealand lacks the home market advantages and scale of the North American and European airlines we’re up against.
Airlines currently serving the Los Angeles – London route include American Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Norwegian Air, as well as United – Air New Zealand’s Star Alliance partner.
All of those flights operate out of Heathrow airport with the exception of Norwegian Air which uses Gatwick.
Summary
As an aviation enthusiast, I am sad to see another airline (after Cathay Pacific) announcing the end of a fifth freedom route.
However, considering that Air New Zealand’s Los Angeles – London route is a legacy from 1982 when the airline industry and technology were completely different from today, it was inevitable.
Especially so with many people choosing to travel between London and Auckland via the Middle East or Asia instead.
On the other hand, it is exciting to see the first non-stop route between New Zealand and the US East Coast take shape.
