Air New Zealand rivals Qantas with 17-hour flight between Auckland and NYC

New Zealand’s flagship carrier is taking ultra-long-haul flights to a new level, announcing a whopping 17-hour flight to one of the best cities in the world.

Air New Zealand will operate ultra-long-haul flights between Auckland and New York City. Picture: iStock

Air New Zealand is ramping up its long-haul game, announcing a direct 17-hour flight between Auckland and New York City.

The Air New Zealand flights will kick off from September 17 this year and will operate three times a week on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

The flight from New Zealand’s flagship carrier is now one of the easiest ways for east coast Aussies to get to the east coast of the US.

The flying time from Brisbane or Sydney to Auckland is around three hours (Melbourne is three-and-a-half hours). Add on the new 17-hour flight to New York’s JFK Airport means you’ll spend around 20 hours in the air.

The new flight also means you can avoid having to change in Los Angeles which is a common stopping point for flights from Australia to New York.

Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said the airline was “thrilled” to launch the new flight.

“New York is an iconic yet familiar city, a bucket list item. We’re thrilled to be able to offer our Australian customers more choice to get to North America, connecting onto our flagship Auckland to New York flights from our nine Australian ports,” he said.

“As an international service from start to finish, it’s a unique proposition and really is the easiest way to get to the Big Apple, on the world’s safest airline.”

Air New Zealand will operate ultra-long-haul flights between Auckland and New York City. Picture: iStock

Air New Zealand dethroned Qantas last year in the annual world’s safest airline competition from airline safety and review website AirlineRatings.com.

The Kiwi carrier was awarded the top spot due to its young fleet, technical innovation and the fact that its flight crews operate in some of the most challenging weather conditions and remote environments.

The new route is one of the longest in the world and Air New Zealand has been working to upgrade its cabin service so passengers aren’t struggling throughout the lengthy trip.

“Customers have the choice to either connect directly onto their New York flight or arrive a few days early and explore everything Auckland has to offer,” Mr Foran said.

“We’ve worked hard over the last few years to make this ultra-long-haul service a reality – it’s one of the longest routes in the world.

“To ensure customers arrive in New York feeling refreshed, we’ve put a lot of thought into the on-board experience and teams are working around the clock to make sure this is a great flying experience.”

Passengers can stopover in Auckland, or carry on straight to New York. Picture: iStock

The longest passenger flight in the world is operated by Singapore Airlines between Changi International Airport in Singapore and New York’s JFK Airport.

That flight takes around 18 hours and covers 15,344km.

Qantas also operates some of the longest passenger flights in the world with its direct service from Australia to London.

While it initially flew from Perth, due to border closures in Western Australia through the pandemic, Qantas has been flying between Darwin and London at a flight time of more than 17 hours.

The airline will resume its direct Perth to London service in June.

Air New Zealand now flies to seven destinations in North America – Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angles, San Francisco, Vancouver and New York in September.