Air NZ puts WA on fast track to Americas
It is a fact: travellers want convenient, fast connections as they crisscross the globe.
So if you’re travelling to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Houston or Buenos Aires this summer, Air New Zealand has some good news.
The airline has just announced it is adding new services and retiming flights between Perth and Auckland to give faster and more convenient connections to the Americas.
From December 11, Air New Zealand will add early-morning flights three times a week to Auckland to connect directly with services to Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and Buenos Aires.
The airline has also retimed its daily Auckland to Perth flight to reduce the connection time from North American cities to WA.
The new flights, code-shared with Virgin Australia, will add 30 per cent to the airline’s capacity and are a major boost to both outbound and inbound tourism.
Initially, the flights will operate over the Australian summer peak until May 2016.
However, industry observers say the service will be popular and will certainly be expanded to daily and year-round.
The new services are timed for the launch of Air NZ’s first services to Houston and Buenos Aires, which take off in December.
Currently, the airline operates a daily three-class 302-seat 787-9 service between Perth and Auckland.
The extra daytime services will use the two-class 230-seat 767-300s, which have been upgraded with new interiors and in-flight entertainment.
Chief sales and commercial officer Cam Wallace says the extra flights are great news for West Australians.
“We know travellers prefer to get to their destinations as quickly, comfortably and seamlessly as possible and we’re pleased to be able to time these extra services specifically to suit the West Australian market,” Mr Wallace says.
“The new services will also mean a boost for the New Zealand tourism industry as we see the popularity of our nation continue to grow in the Australian market.
“There’s no doubt a lot of West Australians will take advantage of this extra capacity and some hot deals to experience New Zealand.”
The new service departs from Perth at 6am and arrives in Auckland a 5.50pm, with a five-hour daylight summertime change.
It returns from Auckland at 7pm, arriving in Perth at 9.40pm.
The retiming of the daily 787 service will work well for travellers from the Americas, departing Auckland at 10.50am and arriving into Perth at 1.20pm.
It also avoids the late-afternoon peak arrivals at Perth Airport.
Air New Zealand will continue to operate twice-weekly seasonal Perth to Christchurch services.
For bookings and information, see airnewzealand.com.au or phone 13 24 76.
