An airline skirmish is shaping up over Texas - and that's great news for New Zealand travellers.
American Airlines is moving ahead with pre-pandemic plans to fly non-stop between Auckland and Dallas Fort Worth (DFW). From October it will operate daily flights over the summer.
While not quite wingtip to wingtip, American's planes will be pitted against Air New Zealand's services to the Lone Star State.
Air New Zealand will resume three-times-a-week scheduled flights between Auckland and Houston starting on July 5.
Hawaiian Airlines is returning to New Zealand in early July and will also be an option as it connects to the Texan capital, Austin, three times a week through its Honolulu hub.
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Going from a famine to something of a decent feed, passengers stand to be the winners. American Airlines is the biggest airline in the world and with its alliance partner Qantas, is a formidable presence in this region.
Although fares have been driven up by strongly rebounding demand and soaring costs this year, American Airlines has a history of sharp pricing and the scale to pump in capacity when it wants to.
When it launched into Auckland in 2016 (after an absence of 24 years) it was offering return airfares as low as $899 between Auckland and Los Angeles. Right now, Air New Zealand flights between Auckland and LA are selling for $1600 for travel three months out.
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Advertise with NZME.Although the demand and cost equations have created a different landscape, more competition leads to lower fares.
Victoria Courtney, Flight Centre Travel Group's general manager of product, said the announcement was fantastic news and hoped more airlines would follow.
"Non-stop US flights have proven popular in the past and we are quite confident this will be no different come October. Additionally, more flights in and out of New Zealand will result in prices becoming more competitive, which is great news for Kiwis keen on travelling abroad."
House of Travel commercial director Brent Thomas also welcomed American's move but said for a tourism and travel recovery to fully take off, pre-departure Covid tests for those heading to New Zealand needed to be ditched as soon as possible, well ahead of the July 31 date indicated by the Government.
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American Airlines had long been tipped to return, and the scale of capacity is in line with ambitious pre-pandemic plans to meet demand, primarily from US visitors. In 2019 it announced plans to serve DFW from Auckland, and to fill a gap in the market with seasonal services from Christchurch to Los Angeles.
There's been no word on re-booting that, yet.
In its announcement today, American said it will return to New Zealand in October and fly through to next March to DFW, the airline's largest hub.
José A. Freig, American's vice-president for international, said the return to Auckland was part of the plan to strengthen American's Asia-Pacific footprint.
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Advertise with NZME.The airline will operate with a Boeing 787-9, the same aircraft type Air NZ will use for its Houston flights.
Auckland Airport's general manager aeronautical commercial, Scott Tasker, said the confirmation of American Airlines' service means five airlines are offering connections from Auckland Airport to eight non-stop destinations across North America over summer.
"Not only is this great news for New Zealand travellers but also provides an excellent option for North Americans looking to spend time in New Zealand. Many US households have travel at the top of their lists for a post-Covid splurge and are seeking out destinations that connect them with nature, offer meaningful travel experiences, and have managed well through the pandemic."
The United States is a big focus for New Zealand's tourism push as the return of Chinese tourists and those from other parts of Asia is some way off.
Tasker said the US connections were important for New Zealand's prosperity.
Every Boeing 787 Dreamliner touching down daily on average contributes $157 million in tourist spending a year and carries $500m worth of freight over a 12-month period.
A total of five airlines flying to/from Auckland from/to North America will offer 60 flights a week over the summer period.
Auckland will be connected to eight non-stop destinations in North America during summer 2022/2023: Dallas Fort Worth; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Houston; Chicago; New York; Honolulu and Vancouver.
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The Board of Airline Representatives' executive director Justin Tighe-Umbers said with Air New Zealand, American Airlines and Hawaiian all flying into Texas, travellers could look forward to some competitive airfares and should keep an eye out for early-bird specials and sales.
"We're optimistic that United Airlines will be back flying in our skies by summer as well."
Bur he said rebuilding the Tasman was taking a little longer than airlines would like.
"The good news is there is very solid demand after the closure, but the tight labour market is proving to be more of a brake on adding capacity than airlines expected."
Airlines and ground handlers are reporting challenges rehiring staff, and that slows down how much new capacity can be put on. They were working hard at rebuilding their teams and getting more flights put on as soon as they can, Tighe-Umbers said.
With just Air New Zealand and Qantas flying nearly all transtasman flights, passengers are facing one-way fares of $800 or more, a far cry from the $69 the Kiwi airline offered in February 2020 to stimulate rapidly collapsing demand in the face of the emerging pandemic.
Qantas is rebuilding with Queenstown flights restored and others coming back. The number of seats in the system has gone from 11,500 seats a week to just over 26,000, although that is about 55 per cent of what was available pre-Covid in May 2019.
