Air New Zealand is to offer a new one stop service from London Heathrow direct into the South Island city of Christchurch via Los Angeles from 2 November. Fares will start from £610 plus tax matching Air New Zealand's current fares for its one stop London-Auckland service.
Operating three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, the airline is introducing a new direct Los Angeles - Christchurch service that will connect directly with Air New Zealand's regular daily service between London and Los Angeles.
"Visiting the South Island is a must for most UK tourists during their time in New Zealand, with Canterbury and Otago two of the most popular regions visited. For the first time, Air New Zealand is now able to directly connect them into the wonders of all the regions in the south. The new service also offers visitors wishing to make the most of their trip to New Zealand the option of flying into Christchurch and out of Auckland, or vice versa." says Ralph Norris, Air New Zealand CEO announcing the service.
"With visitor numbers from the UK at record levels, demand for greater choice, convenience and availability is growing so direct services to and from Christchurch are definitely needed, and as New Zealand's flag carrying airline, we are very excited to be to offer it," he added.
The service from Los Angeles connects with the London flight (NZ1) which lands in Los Angeles at 5.45pm. The flight departs Los Angeles at 8.45pm and arrives into Christchurch at 7.15am after a 13.5 hour journey. The total flying time from London Heathrow is 24 hours 45 minutes.
The return flights will depart Christchurch at 8.30pm arriving into Los Angeles at 12.15pm the same day, with a flight time of 12 hours 45 minutes. The flight connects with the onward London flight (NZ2) departing Los Angeles at 2.45pm.
The three new services are made possible by a reschedule of the 17 Auckland to Los Angeles return services a week to a double-daily service.
Utilising a 392 seat Boeing 747-400 the new flights will give 60,000 additional seats each way annually into and out of Christchurch.
Flight Schedule
| Three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (from both London Heathrow and Christchurch) |
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| Routes | Depart | Arrival | Flight Time | |
| NZ1 | London - Los Angeles | 4.15pm | 5.45pm | 11h 15m |
| NZ19 | Los Angeles - Christchurch | 8.45pm | 7.15am (+2) | 13h 30m |
| NZ18 | Christchurch - Los Angeles | 8.30pm | 12.15pm | 12h 45m |
| NZ2 | Los Angeles - London | 2.45pm | 11.00am | 10h 20m |
Flights are bookable now either on the Air New Zealand website www.airnewzealand.co.uk, through the freephone reservations number 0800 028 4149 or through a travel agent.
For further information please contact:
Sarah Hopkins
Communications Manager
Europe, Air New Zealand
Tel 07768 232 518
NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Aegean Airlines, Air India, Brussels Airlines and TAM have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers 19,500 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries.
For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com.
