New air service between the US and New Zealand

A new air service between the US and New Zealand was announced today by Qantas and American Airlines.

New Zealand’s iconic landscapes. Image by Tom Hall / CC BY 2.0

‘This new Los Angeles-Auckland service will grow the valuable US visitor market and encourage American travellers to see more of New Zealand by offering connections with JetStar’s growing regional network’ said TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts. The US market is growing at 11% a year, with 237,000 visitors arriving in the last year. The US is New Zealand’s third biggest visitor market. Tourism operators around the country will be keen to support this new service with activities and experiences that appeal to North American visitors.

New Zealand’s distance from international markets means air services are critical to its global connectivity, with such services facilitating not only tourism, but also business, freight and wider trade objectives.