Air New Zealand launched its longest route between Auckland Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Friday afternoon (30 November).
With a flight time of approximately 15 hours northbound and just over 16 hours southbound, the flight is Air New Zealand’s longest, taking over from Auckland-Houston which has a flight time of 13.5 hours.
The carrier will operate the sector three times a week utilising a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the route.
Air New Zealand chief executive officer. Christopher Luxon said the airline’s new Auckland-Chicago service means exciting new opportunities for travelers to explore the United States’ third-largest city, along with more of the East Coast of the US and Canada.
He added: “New Zealand already welcomes around 340,000 visitors annually from the US and we anticipate this number will grow with the introduction of this new service. We expect the route will contribute around NZD$70 million annually to our economy – and we know 50 percent of spending by US visitors is done outside the main centres.”
