Auckland continues to open up to the world, with reports of a new direct service from the city to the Middle East.
Qatar Airways is allegedly looking at launching two new routes this year – one that would connect its base Doha to Auckland and the other to Santiago in Chile.
If the reports are true, this would make Qatar Airlines the operator of the world’s two longest flights, with the Doha-Auckland route topping the current record holder (Qantas) by around 500 miles, the Daily Mail reported.
KarryOn has contacted Qatar for confirmation and is awaiting comment.
The potential move would be the latest in driving up competition between Qatar and its UAE rivals on flights to Oceania.
Last year, the airline went head-to-head with Emirates and Etihad when it commenced services to Sydney and Adelaide.
Going after the world’s longest title would also see Qatar outrank Emirates, which is planning to steal the ‘world’s longest route’ from Qantas when it launches its Dubai-Panama City flights next month.
According to WebFlyer, there is a 9,030 miles flight distance between Doha and Auckland and an expected 18 hour and 34 minutes flight time. This is 442 miles longer than the 8,588 miles for Emirates’ Dubai-Panama City service.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s reported Doha-Santiago flight would cover around 8,950 miles – putting it in second place.
It’s suspected that the carrier would utilise its Boeing 777-200LR on the routes, which seats 42 passengers in business and 217 in economy.
In addition to giving Qatar more presence in Oceania, a new service to the Middle East would be the latest destination made accessible to Auckland through new direct flights. Others include Houston, which was opened up by Air New Zealand last year, along with Buenos Aires in Argentina.