On September 17, 2022, Air New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner made its first direct flight to New York City and touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
After flying more than 14,000 kilometers, the airplane departed from Auckland Airport (AKL) at 4:08 AM GMT and arrived at JFK approximately sixteen hours later (8,700 miles).
According to a news release from the airline, the flight included New Zealand’s Hon. Stuart Nash, Chair Dame Therese Walsh, and Greg Foran, CEO of Air New Zealand.
Three times a week will see the new flight’s operation. It is Air New Zealand’s longest flight route and the fifth-longest in the world, just behind Emirates Dubai-Auckland and Qantas Airways Melbourne-Dallas.
The flight was given the number NZ 2, and the return flight from JFK to AKL was given the number NZ 1. Foran claims that the numbers are often designated for an airline’s premier routes.
The new flight was supposed to take off in 2020, but the COVID-19 epidemic caused that to be postponed.
