Air New Zealand will make Chicago O'Hare its fourth U.S.
destination in November, as the carrier broadens its joint venture with United.
The Auckland-O'Hare service will fly three times weekly
beginning Nov. 30 and will be serviced by a Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner. Air New
Zealand will market and operate the flight in conjunction with United as part
of the antitrust-immune joint venture the carriers commenced in 2016. Flight
times on the route will be approximately 15 hours on the Auckland-Chicago leg
and more than 16 hours going the other way.
Chicago will be Air New Zealand's fourth U.S. gateway,
joining United hubs Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Air New Zealand
said it will codeshare with United on approximately 100 flights from O'Hare.
In addition to the new route announcement, Air New Zealand
and United said that they would extend Auckland-San Francisco service from
seasonal to year-round beginning in 2019. The flight, operated with United
aircraft, is currently offered only during the New Zealand summer season of
November through March. United won't fly the route this New Zealand winter
(April-October), but will begin doing so in April of 2019.
"Today's announcements are great examples of the
customer benefits that result from the strong, strategic alliance and
partnership between United Airlines and Air New Zealand," United's
international network vice president Patrick Quayle said.