At 4pm on Saturday, Air New Zealand’s inaugural flight to New York will take off from Auckland Airport.
It’s a much-anticipated departure, as the first-ever non-stop service between New Zealand and the Big Apple. The service was initially supposed to launch in October 2020, but had to be postponed because of Covid-19.
Here’s a by-the-numbers look at the new route.
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The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is the aircraft being used on the route. This particular aircraft has 27 seats in business, 33 in premium economy, and 215 in economy, as well as 13 Skycouches in economy. Premium economy passengers get a seat pitch of 104 to 106cm, while economy passengers get 78 to 83cm of space from the seat in front of them.
The flight numbers – NZ2 for Auckland to New York, and NZ1 for the return journey. Announcing the route, Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran explained flight numbers 1 and 2 were traditionally used for an airline’s flagship route. “And that’s what New York will be – our flagship route.”
The distance between Auckland Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport. This will make it the fourth-longest currently operating flight in the world. The outbound flight has a scheduled duration of 16 hours and 15 minutes, while the return journey is set to take 17 hours and 35 minutes, due to the difference in jet streams.
The estimated CO2 emissions for an economy passenger on the one-way flight from Auckland, according to Air New Zealand’s calculator. For a business passenger, it’s 3035kg of CO2.
The starting price for a one-way flight from Auckland to New York in economy when the service first went on sale back in March. The lowest price is now $1051, according to the Air New Zealand website.
Passengers booked on the inaugural flight – it’s almost sold out.
Crew onboard – 13 cabin crew, and four pilots (two captains, a first officer and second officer). These crew will work in shifts for the ultra-long-haul flight, using a special rest schedule designed by Massey University.
Films and TV shows passengers will be able to watch on the entertainment system. There will be a special New York category of content that features the city, like The Devil Wears Prada, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and John Wick: Chapter 2.
Meal services during the flight – dinner service after take-off, and brunch before landing. Snacks will be available on request throughout the flight, and before landing, cabin crew will be handing out the traditional lollies – for this flight, they will be the special “black” lollies (blackcurrant flavour).
Times a week is the frequency of the non-stop service, with flights offered on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, year-round.
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