The Top 5 Airlines Operating From The USA To New Zealand in 2024

Especially in the quickly expanding post-pandemic tourism market, New Zealand is one of the most sought-after travel destinations for Americans. There are numerous travel alternatives for direct flights from the United States to Oceania due to the high level of interest among visitors located in the US.

At least five airlines—American Airlines, Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Qantas—will offer nonstop service between the United States and New Zealand by 2024. Let’s take a look at the five airlines that will be providing direct connections in 2024 and compare them based on their total passenger capacity. Cirium Aviation Analytics provided Simple Flying with this data.

Delta Air Lines

In 2024, this US legacy carrier will begin offering flights to New Zealand as well. From Los Angeles International Airport, its main hub on the West Coast, Delta Air Lines flies nonstop to Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand but not the capital, once a day. On October 28, 2023, the airline began operating a new daily route that spans 6,504 miles across the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, Delta will provide the service all year round, in contrast to other established airlines like United Airlines and American Airlines, who only run the route sometimes during the northern winter season or the southern summer season. Until March 2024, Delta will provide daily flights throughout the busiest summer months between Los Angeles and Auckland. Delta will then operate the route three times.

An Airbus A350-900 will be operated by Delta on the 5,659 nautical mile journey. The airline operates A350-900s, which were formerly operated by LATAM, with seating arrangements for 339 passengers in three cabins. 30 lie-flat seats are available in Delta One, 63 in Comfort+, and 246 in Main Cabin or Economy on this aircraft. In 2024, the airline plans to operate 492 flights with 158,274 seats and 1,029,414,096 available seat miles between the US and New Zealand.

Qantas

In terms of transpacific carriers, Qantas, the flag carrier of neighboring Australia, will have the third most flights between the US and New Zealand in 2024. There is just one nonstop route operated by the Australian flag carrier between the US and New Zealand. Given that the airline is not headquartered in either the United States or New Zealand, this may at first seem contradictory. The route can, however, be operated by the carrier as a fifth freedom service as a segment of a connecting flight that lands at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD). There is just one nonstop route operated by the Australian flag carrier between the US and New Zealand. Still, given its wide network throughout the US and the regular flights it operates between Australia and New Zealand, a considerable portion of passengers choose to connect on Qantas via Australia while flying from the US to NZ.

The Australian flag carrier launched its inaugural flight between Auckland International Airport (AKL) and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on June 14, 2023. Even though the trip didn’t begin operating until June 2023, Qantas has been getting ready for the Auckland-New York route for more than two years. As part of these preparations, the airline upgraded a number of its facilities, including the Qantas International lounge in Auckland, which was completely renovated. Before long-haul flights, guests may now enjoy the amenities they expect from the upgraded Qantas lounge.

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operates the route; flight numbers QF3 and QF4 correspond to the eastbound and westbound flights, respectively. Despite operating from Sydney (SYD) to New York via Auckland, the Auckland to New York route is a fifth freedom flight that subsequently connects to Sydney. Passengers do not need to buy a ticket to Sydney in order to book a flight from New York to New Zealand because it is a fifth-freedom flight.

The 17-hour service is run by Qantas four times a week, with flights available on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Cirium Aviation Analytics data indicates that in 2024, Qantas will run 528 flights between the United States and New Zealand; the total includes the Sydney to Auckland segment. In addition, Qantas will have 1,098,170,304 open seat miles and 124,608 seats available through 2024.

American Airlines

The biggest airline in the world, American Airlines, provides nonstop service between the US and New Zealand. American Airlines operates flights to New Zealand from two US locations: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). These services are only available during the busiest travel times of the summer. American began operating daily flights from Dallas to Auckland on October 29 and plans to do so until March 25, 2024. The largest airline in the world began seasonal daily flights between Auckland and Los Angeles on December 21, 2023. Up until the middle of February 2024, American Airlines will operate daily flights between Los Angeles and Auckland; after that, it will only operate three weekly flights. After that, America will halt the route in early March 2024 and resume it during the busiest summer months.

For both flights, American Airlines uses a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. With their four cabin configuration, these 787-9s can accommodate 285 passengers. The airplane has 198 lie-flat seats in the Main Cabin or Economy, 36 in Main Cabin Extra, 21 in Premium Economy, and 30 in Flagship Business. In 2024, the airline plans to operate 439 flights with 125,115 seats and 895,555,785 available seat miles between the US and New Zealand.

United Airlines

Out of the US-based carriers operating between the US and New Zealand in 2024, United Airlines has the greatest number of flights. With its announcement in April 2023 that it will increase its flight schedule to Australia and New Zealand by 40% for the winter of 2024, the airline cemented its status as the largest US heritage carrier in the South Pacific. United operates two major hubs on the West Coast, Los Angeles and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), from where it reaches Auckland. With its new route to Christchurch International Airport (CHC), the airline is the only one that flies between the United States and the South Island of New Zealand. United launched its seasonal service between San Francisco and Christchurch on December 10. The service will run three times a week for four months during the summer months in New Zealand.

United launched its seasonal connection between Los Angeles and Auckland on October 28. The route will only operate during the summer, with three weekly flights initially, and then increasing to four weekly flights in December, when the summer travel season peaks. United has year-round service from San Francisco to Auckland, in contrast to the other routes. Up until March 2024, United will provide daily flights from San Francisco to Auckland throughout the busy summer season. After that, Delta will operate three weekly flights on the route until October 2024, when it will resume daily operations.

A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is used by United on its recently launched route connecting San Francisco and Christchurch. With 28 lie-flat seats in its Polaris business class, 21 in premium plus, 36 in the economy plus section, and 158 in economy class, the 787-8 can accommodate 243 passengers throughout its four cabins. On its route from Los Angeles to Auckland, United Airlines uses a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. 48 passengers can be accommodated in United’s Polaris business class, 21 in premium plus, 39 in economy plus, and 149 in economy class on its aircraft. Finally, United operates a Boeing 777-200 on its route between Auckland and San Francisco. There are 4 cabins on the aircraft that can accommodate 276 passengers total: 50 in Polaris business class, 24 in premium plus, 46 in economy plus, and 156 in economy. In 2024, the airline plans to operate 758 flights between the US and NZ, providing 200,184 seats and 1,313,404,320 available seat miles.

Air New Zealand

As anticipated, Air New Zealand, the national carrier of New Zealand, tops the list of airlines operating the most number of flights from the United States to New Zealand in 2024. The home carrier operates out of its hub in Auckland and covers six US destinations. The airline plans to fly to Honolulu (HNL), Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and New York (JFK) in 2024. A Boeing 777-300 is used by Air New Zealand for daily flights to Houston, daily flights to San Francisco, and ten weekly flights to Los Angeles. On its four weekly flights to New York, three weekly flights to Chicago, and three weekly flights to Honolulu, the airline uses a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

There are two versions of Air New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The 787-9 V2 has 215 economy seats, 33 premium economy seats, and 27 lie-flat business class seats. There are 18 lie-flat seats in business class, 21 seats in premium economy, and 263 seats in economy on the other 787-9 layout. Similar to the 787-9, Air New Zealand’s Boeing 777-300s are available in two configurations. There are 44 lie-flat business class seats, 54 premium economy seats, and 244 economy seats on the Boeing 777-300ER. The Boeing 777-367ER, on the other hand, which was formerly flown by Cathay Pacific, has 201 seats in economy, 34 seats in premium economy, 53 lie-flat seats in business class or Business Premier, and six lie-flat seats in Business Premier Preferred. The airline has been decided.