Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Qantas: Big moves on NZ-US routes

Aviation writer Grant Bradley looks at some of his highlights of a year in the air. It’s been a bumpy one for flying, with weather problems causing a lost luggage crisis at the start of 2023 and ongoing disruption through airports and in the air. And contacting airlines has been a nightmare for some of the millions who flew. Many airlines have enjoyed record or near-record profitability (good in the long term for passengers), and there’s been a lot else to like about flying in 2023.

Best new routes

It’s a tie: Delta Air Line’s new service between Auckland and Los Angeles was part of the massive surge in capacity between New Zealand and the United States. United Airlines’ summer service between San Francisco and Christchurch marked a long overdue revival of direct links into the South Island, which many tourists want to visit, and Qantas brought welcome competition to the longest route of them all, flying into the States with its Auckland-New York flights. Qantas stepped them up to four times a week over summer and is on track for daily flights next year as it flexes its muscles in the New Zealand market. And the best restart was Cathay Pacific’s re-entry into Christchurch, flying three times a week over the summer, which is great for travellers and especially good news for South Island exporters. The Airbus A350-1000 has big freight capacity in its belly.

Best new plane

It hasn’t landed here yet, but Air New Zealand’s announcement it had signed for Beta battery-powered planes is a big milestone in the shift to low-emissions flying. The small planes are being made in Vermont and one is due to arrive here in 2026. It will initially fly short routes, carrying only freight to trial the aircraft and the on-ground infrastructure, but it’s an important commitment by the airline.

Singapore Airlines has brought its A380 back to Auckland equipped with ultra-luxury suites.

Best new on-board products to land

Singapore Airlines is flying its Airbus A380 into Auckland over the summer, and it’s fitted with new suites that weren’t fitted to the superjumbos flying here before the pandemic. It has six luxurious suites at the front of the upper deck. A one-way flight between Auckland and Singapore in the suite costs just under $11,000 if booked today for next month. On the food front, Air New Zealand’s new snacks are (long-overdue) winners, but if you want something more substantial, Jetstar (whose on-time performance has improved markedly) has an a la carte menu (below) that is impressive. And Qantas brought some new sartorial style into business class with bespoke PJs on its New York flights, designed by Rebecca Vallance.

Rebecca Vallance designed PJs for business-class passengers on the Sydney-Auckland-New York flights.

Best on-board product to come

The easy winner is Air New Zealand’s announcement it plans to launch free Wi-Fi on domestic planes from the end of next year. Assuming a trial on an A320 and ATR regional turbo prop is successful, Starlink Wi-Fi will be available on around 50 of the planes, and for many passengers will transform the flying experience. It will be a game-changer. With low lag time, the service is touted as being similar to what you’d get sitting in your lounge. It’s either going to be a big boost to the nation’s productivity - or drive up Netflix numbers. The airline’s Skynest sleeping pods for economy and premium economy passengers will be fitted in its longest-range Dreamliners and will, for a price, make those ultra-long flights more fun for those who choose to splash out.

Biggest birthday

Emirates celebrated 20 years of flying to Aotearoa in August. The airline has transformed the aviation landscape for long-haul travellers to and from this country, and its A380 is back flying to both Auckland and Christchurch. The airline backed Team New Zealand when it started flying here and has renewed its sponsorship.

Most interesting passengers

A close call. United Airlines passenger Carl Brothers was on the 11,000km inaugural flight from San Franciso to Christchurch, and was on the ground for less than five hours before getting back on the plane - in economy - on his four-million-mile run. He’s a “million miler” chasing lifetime privileges on the airline, so the longer the route, the better. He had a great story. Less willing to share their story was the couple who arrived on Delta Air Lines’ inaugural flight into Auckland who were taking no chances regarding picking up bugs and were fully kitted out with MicroClimate Air masks - full-faced, “fully filtered super-masks” that seal around the neck and filter both incoming and outgoing air. The units sell for $480, and the publicity-shy couple, adroitly moved through Auckland Airport by a staffer, weren’t keen on talking about their reason for wearing the kits, which became popular during the pandemic.

What to look out for in 2024

It will be a big one for Air New Zealand. It will face more challenges because of global engine maintenance issues with Pratt & Whitney-powered A320/21 aircraft. The airline has 17 of these, and up to five could be grounded at a time. It has already suspended flights to Hobart from April and the domestic schedule has been hit. Close to 330,000 passengers are on affected flights, and it will fly more turboprop ATRs on main trunk routes, with knock-on impacts to its regional schedule. The airline will also suspend flights to Seoul to allow more resiliency when the Trent1000 engines that power the 787 fleet go for regular maintenance because of potential issues with the availability of spare engines from Rolls-Royce to cover the maintenance period. The airline is bringing back Spanish charter operator Wamos to the Auckland-Perth route to add flexibility to its schedule and has a long-term lease of an ex-Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 for Melbourne-Auckland-Dallas flights. All this comes with chances of repeating a near-record profit drop as demand continues to drop.

Air New Zealand will hopefully ease wait times for dealing with customer inquiries. A new contact centre in the Philippines will open early in the year and handle email and social inquiries, leaving more complex problems and voice calls with New Zealand-based staff.

Further good news for Air NZ is that new planes are coming. The first of its eight new 787-9s are due to join the fleet towards the end of the year as part of a $3.5 billion fleet renewal and refurbishment plan. The Dreamliner fleet will get all-new interiors - not just Skynest, but there’ll be new seats throughout and business premier seating will look more like other airlines’ layouts as the dated herringbone layout goes. And there’ll be new uniforms when Emilia Wickstead’s final designs are revealed in late 2024, following design tweaks, on-board trials and consultation with crews.

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.