by Donald Wood
Last updated: 4:17 PM ET, Wed October 23, 2019
United Airlines announced Wednesday it has expanded its partnership with Air New Zealand to include the only nonstop service between New Zealand and the east coast of the United States.
Starting in October 2020, Air New Zealand will begin a three-times-weekly new nonstop service between Auckland Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Tickets for the new flights will be available for purchase starting in November.
The year-round service will be operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with a flight time of approximately 17 hours and 40 minutes southbound and 15 hours 40 minutes northbound.
"Air New Zealand's nonstop flight will cut travel time by around three hours, putting New Zealand in easy reach of New York and the East Coast United States," Air New Zealand CEO Jeff McDowall said in a statement. "It's terrific we can make a seamless journey a reality for Kiwis wanting to experience New York and for U.S. travelers who have added New Zealand to their bucket list and we look forward to partnering with United Airlines to grow travel in both directions."
Air New Zealand and United announced year-round nonstop service between Chicago and Auckland in 2018, and the partnership now includes 90 flights across the U.S. for convenient connections to Auckland via Newark.
"United's strong, strategic alliance partnership with Air New Zealand provides our customers with more options to travel between the United States and New Zealand than any other airline in the world and we are proud to partner on this first-ever nonstop service connecting New Zealand with our hub at Newark Liberty International Airport," United senior vice president John Gebo said in a statement.
"We are excited to offer our shared customers another option when planning travel to beautiful New Zealand while conveniently connecting visitors to more than 90 destinations across the United States with just one-stop connections at our New York hub," Gebo continued.
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