Qantas officially has new competition on flights from Oceania to America’s south as Air New Zealand commences its Auckland and Houston, Texas service.
And they’re off…
NZ28 departed Auckland International Airport at 6:30pm last night and arrived at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 7.45am New Zealand time.
The carrier’s Boeing 777-200 aircraft will service the route five times weekly and will compete with Qantas’ Sydney to Dallas service, which has been operating since 2011.
According to Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon, the operational launch of the airline’s new Houston service – its fifth in North America – is a great way to end what has been a very busy year for the carrier.
“This week we mark 50 years of flying to the US – it’s a huge milestone and fantastic that as we celebrate this we also celebrate the operational launch of our latest US service which directly connects New Zealand to the heart of America’s south.”
Christopher Luxon, Air New Zealand CEO
“We are committed to continuing to expand our Pacific Rim network and are excited to give our customers direct access to Houston and beyond.”
Today’s arrival is just the latest of a string of new flights and marketing initiatives from the carrier in 2015.
What a beautiful sight!?! Our inaugural flight has arrived in Houston. #NZmeetsTX #AirNZHouston #InauguralFlight pic.twitter.com/LkHXDSCEV7
— Air New Zealand (@FlyAirNZ) December 15, 2015
This month alone, Air New Zealand launched its first direct flight to South America, with services from Auckland to Buenos Aires in Argentina.
The airline also kicked off its alliance with Air China and added a new seasonal service to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Additionally, Air New Zealand unveiled two world firsts – a futuristic bag drop and armbands for tracking kids.
