Air New Zealand Extends Suspension of Flights; Delays New York Launch to Late-2021

Air New Zealand has extended the suspension of flights between Auckland-Buenos Aires and Los Angeles-London.

The two routes have now been suspended until 30 June due to government travel bans and the impact of COVID19 on forward travel demand.

Prior to COVID19, Air New Zealand operated a daily service between Los Angeles and London, and up to five times weekly from Auckland to Buenos Aires.

Last year, the airline announced its plan to exit the Los Angeles-London route in October 2020 and in March brought forward the closure of its London cabin crew base.

The airline has also taken the decision to postpone the launch of non-stop Auckland-New York flights from 29 October 2020 until late 2021, at the earliest.

Air New Zealand Chief Networks, Strategy and Alliances Officer, Nick Judd, said demand for international travel has been tracking at about five percent of pre-COVID19 levels into June.

"It's deeply disappointing to be in this position. Our people have worked tenaciously over the years to build these markets and excitement was growing for our non-stop New York flight. However, the effects of COVID19 continue to bite; we expect most countries to take a cautious approach to international travel in the next year and we have to be pragmatic. Government travel restrictions will continue for some time and demand for our Los Angeles-London service is unlikely to recover before our planned exit in October. Argentina has been challenging before the pandemic and we don't expect this market to recover quickly," Mr. Judd said.

Air New Zealand is currently operating a limited international network through to 30 June to keep air links open for essential travel and cargo movement on key trade routes. Total capacity has been reduced to 95 percent of pre-COVID19 levels and the airline has said that demand will be reviewed on a route-by-route basis before services are resumed.

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