Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

aerohottie wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

Looks like Delta is finally confirmed for AKL-LAX. I'm surprised it's the A350. No confirmation yet on whether it's just seasonal or year round ( my money would be in seasonal, but we'll see)

https://news.delta.com/delta-launches-f ... stinations

Not surprised by them using the A359 at all. Not sure why you would be???
I do wonder which lounge Dl will direct their pax to in AKL though, and what schedule they'll operate. Especially considering they are likely to time the SYD, AKL and PPT flights with LHR, CDG and AMS

I would have expected an A339 myself. The only schedule it will be is something like
LAX 2330 AKL 0930
AKL 1500 LAX 0600

Give or take, I would be surprised if it is anything much different.

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

NZ needs to HTFU and get it's new products flying. Late 2024 doesn't cut it. I'd also love to see more services to potentially YYZ, IAD and DEN, and secondary ports in Aus, potentially CBR, NCL etc.
And while pax have the opportunity to fly with superior products on competitors, they risk losing them permanently. Understand there is an aircraft shortage, but again this was the choice of Air NZ leadership to ditch the 772ERs prematurely without any contingency.

NZ just doesn't seem in any way to be the nimble airline it proposed to be under Fyfe. Without being political, it seems as though Luxon's time as CE can be described as a period lacking in investment, lacking in forward planning and uninspiring strategy. All of which has hindered Foran's ability to act swiftly. Also acknowledging that the 772 decision was under Foran's watch

Delta's New Zealand flight schedule

Delta Flight 65: Los Angeles to Auckland, departs 10:30 p.m., arrives 7:35 a.m. (+2 days), all times local.

Delta Flight 64: Auckland to Los Angeles, departs 2 p.m., arrives 6:05 a.m., all times local.

Those times are an hour out I’m sure. From TPG article.

WLG787 wrote:

Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

aerohottie wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

Looks like Delta is finally confirmed for AKL-LAX. I'm surprised it's the A350. No confirmation yet on whether it's just seasonal or year round ( my money would be in seasonal, but we'll see)

https://news.delta.com/delta-launches-f ... stinations

Not surprised by them using the A359 at all. Not sure why you would be???
I do wonder which lounge Dl will direct their pax to in AKL though, and what schedule they'll operate. Especially considering they are likely to time the SYD, AKL and PPT flights with LHR, CDG and AMS

I think it is because the A339 can do the trip no problem, although they may be thinking of the additional cargo uplift the A359 brings to the table. Great to see DL here though, always nice to have a new carrier visiting us.

aerohottie wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

NZ needs to HTFU and get it's new products flying. Late 2024 doesn't cut it. I'd also love to see more services to potentially YYZ, IAD and DEN, and secondary ports in Aus, potentially CBR, NCL etc.
And while pax have the opportunity to fly with superior products on competitors, they risk losing them permanently. Understand there is an aircraft shortage, but again this was the choice of Air NZ leadership to ditch the 772ERs prematurely without any contingency.

NZ just doesn't seem in any way to be the nimble airline it proposed to be under Fyfe. Without being political, it seems as though Luxon's time as CE can be described as a period lacking in investment, lacking in forward planning and uninspiring strategy. All of which has hindered Foran's ability to act swiftly. Also acknowledging that the 772 decision was under Foran's watch

Good grief. So I surpose they are in the phone to the suppliers now to get the new seats delivered tomorrow, it just doesn’t work like that.

Again in what way were the 772s dropped prematurely? They would be costing the airline if they still had them given they wouldn’t be able to fly them with no crew.

Under Luxon the airline grew hugely.

Kiwings wrote:

So any bets on AA announcing LAX-CHC for later this year ? I imagine CIAL will be willing to do anything to get AA seasonal service now.

Not sure, ate this stage they plan still to return to LAX-AKL in NW 23/24, while LAX-CHC hasn’t had to much mention but hasn’t been officially dropped that I have heard.

UA SFO-CHC maybe

ZK-NBT wrote:

Delta's New Zealand flight schedule

Delta Flight 65: Los Angeles to Auckland, departs 10:30 p.m., arrives 7:35 a.m. (+2 days), all times local.

Delta Flight 64: Auckland to Los Angeles, departs 2 p.m., arrives 6:05 a.m., all times local.

Those times are an hour out I’m sure. From TPG article.

WLG787 wrote:

Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

Great to see a daily frequency from the get go too!

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

A great portfolio for AKL now. I prefer if DL started service to their largest hub ATL and open up new travel options in the South East of the USA. I wonder if NZ will cut back AKL - LAX to daily now. Time will tell.

NZ516 wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

A great portfolio for AKL now. I prefer if DL started service to their largest hub ATL and open up new travel options in the South East of the USA. I wonder if NZ will cut back AKL - LAX to daily now. Time will tell.

ATL kind of suffers from being too far east ( compared to IAH or DFW ). Although Atlanta is a very cool town to visit. Much better than Houston or Dallas ( especially Houston, which is a dump of a joint ).

NZ516 wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

A great portfolio for AKL now. I prefer if DL started service to their largest hub ATL and open up new travel options in the South East of the USA. I wonder if NZ will cut back AKL - LAX to daily now. Time will tell.

Personally I think LAX while the safe bet it is easily the largest O&D market where DL have a decent presence at LAX, they don’t need to rely so much on connections at the AKL end, where as from ATL they would possibly need a partner at the AKL end.

NZ won’t cut LAX back, more likely increase it if anything imo.

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

A great portfolio for AKL now. I prefer if DL started service to their largest hub ATL and open up new travel options in the South East of the USA. I wonder if NZ will cut back AKL - LAX to daily now. Time will tell.

Personally I think LAX while the safe bet it is easily the largest O&D market where DL have a decent presence at LAX, they don’t need to rely so much on connections at the AKL end, where as from ATL they would possibly need a partner at the AKL end.

NZ won’t cut LAX back, more likely increase it if anything imo.

How much capacity can NZ-USA realistically have?
I.e. amongst all of this, could new routes still be launched in the coming years and still be successful?

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

A great portfolio for AKL now. I prefer if DL started service to their largest hub ATL and open up new travel options in the South East of the USA. I wonder if NZ will cut back AKL - LAX to daily now. Time will tell.

Personally I think LAX while the safe bet it is easily the largest O&D market where DL have a decent presence at LAX, they don’t need to rely so much on connections at the AKL end, where as from ATL they would possibly need a partner at the AKL end.

NZ won’t cut LAX back, more likely increase it if anything imo.

I can't see Air NZ increasing LAX past 10 per week now. Perhaps they can increase ORD and JFK to daily when more 789s arrive which might be a while now with the delays.

aerohottie wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

Looks like Delta is finally confirmed for AKL-LAX. I'm surprised it's the A350. No confirmation yet on whether it's just seasonal or year round ( my money would be in seasonal, but we'll see)

https://news.delta.com/delta-launches-f ... stinations

Not surprised by them using the A359 at all. Not sure why you would be???
I do wonder which lounge Dl will direct their pax to in AKL though, and what schedule they'll operate. Especially considering they are likely to time the SYD, AKL and PPT flights with LHR, CDG and AMS

I’m guessing they are looking to pickup some freight ex-AKL, to help with the profitability of the service hence the a350 over the a339.

Would think they would use the Strata Lounge in Auckland, is the only contract lounge there.

The EK lounge at AKL is now a waste of space, for a daily service. I wonder once the QF lounge upgrade is finished, I’d the EK lounge will close? And EK would just direct people to the QF lounge.

I’m sure NZ would love to get there hands on the EK lounge floor space, the two lounges back onto each other.

aerohottie wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

Looks like Delta is finally confirmed for AKL-LAX. I'm surprised it's the A350. No confirmation yet on whether it's just seasonal or year round ( my money would be in seasonal, but we'll see)

https://news.delta.com/delta-launches-f ... stinations

Not surprised by them using the A359 at all. Not sure why you would be???

I was initially surprised because I thought the A339 might have been a more suitable size for the route.
However, someone has since pointed out to me that LAX is a 359 base , but not a base for the 339, so I concede that the 359 makes more sense.

zkncj wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

Looks like Delta is finally confirmed for AKL-LAX. I'm surprised it's the A350. No confirmation yet on whether it's just seasonal or year round ( my money would be in seasonal, but we'll see)

https://news.delta.com/delta-launches-f ... stinations

Not surprised by them using the A359 at all. Not sure why you would be???
I do wonder which lounge Dl will direct their pax to in AKL though, and what schedule they'll operate. Especially considering they are likely to time the SYD, AKL and PPT flights with LHR, CDG and AMS

I’m guessing they are looking to pickup some freight ex-AKL, to help with the profitability of the service hence the a350 over the a339.

Would think they would use the Strata Lounge in Auckland, is the only contract lounge there.

The EK lounge at AKL is now a waste of space, for a daily service. I wonder once the QF lounge upgrade is finished, I’d the EK lounge will close? And EK would just direct people to the QF lounge.

I’m sure NZ would love to get there hands on the EK lounge floor space, the two lounges back onto each other.

Why is the EK lounge a waste of space, it serves its purpose as a strategic piece of their value proposition to their passenger pool and maintains a standard which is consistent with their branding which their passenger pool has come to expect. QF and EK maybe close in some respects but at the end of the day they are two separate airlines who place emphasis on different things, lounges is one of the more overt parts of that.

By that same logic NZ may as well not have a lounge presence in PER, NAN, or RAR with their predominantly daily only services, yet it exists because their passenger pool expects it and it serves as a means of carving out a premium in these markets as well.

Besides who is to say EK will remain only at a daily service, it's only some on anet who are adament that it won't increase. No doubt they're in a unique position to evaluate how they want additional flights to proceed, is 5th freedom the means to achieve that, maybe, maybe not.

Ultimately EK has achieved one of its likely key NZ goals which was to establish and maintain the non stop DXB flight daily and get it to an A380. I forsee the next goal is likely to introduce a 2nd non-stop frequency, they'll have the data, they'll know where their pax are heading and how they are interacting with the DXB hub and no doubt they'll be analysing which bank another flight could get appropriate support from and then making it work from the many other aspects that go into route development.

At the end of the day I think it's important to take stock and remember the NZ border has only been fully open to all for a little over 4 months, as exciting as it is to get flurries of announcements we need to give the airlines and airports a chance, and just because an airline hasn't announced anything publically doesn't mean they're automatically not coming back.

aerohottie wrote:

NZ just doesn't seem in any way to be the nimble airline it proposed to be under Fyfe. Without being political, it seems as though Luxon's time as CE can be described as a period lacking in investment, lacking in forward planning and uninspiring strategy. All of which has hindered Foran's ability to act swiftly. Also acknowledging that the 772 decision was under Foran's watch

100% agree. If only we lived in an alternate universe where it went from Fyfe to Foran. Luxon was such an anchor in so many ways. However, his inflation of middle management enabled Foran to have the fat to cut.

So much will be locked in but really hope the new product can be brought forward as it's desperately needed.

Kiwings wrote:

So any bets on AA announcing LAX-CHC for later this year ? I imagine CIAL will be willing to do anything to get AA seasonal service now.

Hopefully soon

NPL8800 wrote:

zkncj wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

Not surprised by them using the A359 at all. Not sure why you would be???
I do wonder which lounge Dl will direct their pax to in AKL though, and what schedule they'll operate. Especially considering they are likely to time the SYD, AKL and PPT flights with LHR, CDG and AMS

I’m guessing they are looking to pickup some freight ex-AKL, to help with the profitability of the service hence the a350 over the a339.

Would think they would use the Strata Lounge in Auckland, is the only contract lounge there.

The EK lounge at AKL is now a waste of space, for a daily service. I wonder once the QF lounge upgrade is finished, I’d the EK lounge will close? And EK would just direct people to the QF lounge.

I’m sure NZ would love to get there hands on the EK lounge floor space, the two lounges back onto each other.

Why is the EK lounge a waste of space, it serves its purpose as a strategic piece of their value proposition to their passenger pool and maintains a standard which is consistent with their branding which their passenger pool has come to expect. QF and EK maybe close in some respects but at the end of the day they are two separate airlines who place emphasis on different things, lounges is one of the more overt parts of that.

By that same logic NZ may as well not have a lounge presence in PER, NAN, or RAR with their predominantly daily only services, yet it exists because their passenger pool expects it and it serves as a means of carving out a premium in these markets as well.

Besides who is to say EK will remain only at a daily service, it's only some on anet who are adament that it won't increase. No doubt they're in a unique position to evaluate how they want additional flights to proceed, is 5th freedom the means to achieve that, maybe, maybe not.

Ultimately EK has achieved one of its likely key NZ goals which was to establish and maintain the non stop DXB flight daily and get it to an A380. I forsee the next goal is likely to introduce a 2nd non-stop frequency, they'll have the data, they'll know where their pax are heading and how they are interacting with the DXB hub and no doubt they'll be analysing which bank another flight could get appropriate support from and then making it work from the many other aspects that go into route development.

At the end of the day I think it's important to take stock and remember the NZ border has only been fully open to all for a little over 4 months, as exciting as it is to get flurries of announcements we need to give the airlines and airports a chance, and just because an airline hasn't announced anything publically doesn't mean they're automatically not coming back.

EK doesn’t have a lounge in CHC, which gets a daily a388 service. When the AKL was built it was when EK had 3x a388s departing AKL all around the same time.
The lounge is massive and oversized for a single a388.

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

Or another way to look at it:
HNL x2
LAX x2 (but actually 3x since NZ will do double daily-ish)
SFO x2
YVR x2
JFK x2
IAH x1
ORD x1
DFW x1

JJWess wrote:

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

A great portfolio for AKL now. I prefer if DL started service to their largest hub ATL and open up new travel options in the South East of the USA. I wonder if NZ will cut back AKL - LAX to daily now. Time will tell.

Personally I think LAX while the safe bet it is easily the largest O&D market where DL have a decent presence at LAX, they don’t need to rely so much on connections at the AKL end, where as from ATL they would possibly need a partner at the AKL end.

NZ won’t cut LAX back, more likely increase it if anything imo.

How much capacity can NZ-USA realistically have?
I.e. amongst all of this, could new routes still be launched in the coming years and still be successful?

I think there will be a pause for a while. So AA may postpone LAX - AKL and LAX - CHC flying to watch the situation unfold. The market will take some time to absorb all the new capacity. There is still the QF AKL- JFK service to come which will provide even more seats.

NZ516 wrote:

JJWess wrote:

ZK-NBT wrote:

Personally I think LAX while the safe bet it is easily the largest O&D market where DL have a decent presence at LAX, they don’t need to rely so much on connections at the AKL end, where as from ATL they would possibly need a partner at the AKL end.

NZ won’t cut LAX back, more likely increase it if anything imo.

How much capacity can NZ-USA realistically have?
I.e. amongst all of this, could new routes still be launched in the coming years and still be successful?

I think there will be a pause for a while. So AA may postpone LAX - AKL and LAX - CHC flying to watch the situation unfold. The market will take some time to absorb all the new capacity. There is still the QF AKL- JFK service to come which will provide even more seats.

QF AKL-JFK is predominantly about the Australian market but they will pick up some AKL pax. I would expect NZ will look to increase at fairly short notice as well.

Zkpilot wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

Or another way to look at it:
HNL x2
LAX x2 (but actually 3x since NZ will do double daily-ish)
SFO x2
YVR x2
JFK x2
IAH x1
ORD x1
DFW x1

Or another way per week from highest to lowest

LAX x17
SFO x11
YVR x11
DFW x7
HNL x6
JFK x6
IAH x5
ORD x3

aerohottie wrote:

Zkpilot wrote:

Kiwiandrew wrote:

This should make next summer interesting between here and the US/Canada with 7 carriers offering direct flights to 8 destinations :

NZ: HNL, LAX, SFO, YVR, IAH, ORD, JFK
HA: HNL
AC: YVR
AA: DFW
DL: LAX
QF: JFK
UA: SFO

Or another way to look at it:
HNL x2
LAX x2 (but actually 3x since NZ will do double daily-ish)
SFO x2
YVR x2
JFK x2
IAH x1
ORD x1
DFW x1

Or another way per week from highest to lowest

LAX x17
SFO x11
YVR x11
DFW x7
HNL x6
JFK x6
IAH x5
ORD x3

HNL might be higher than 6pw if you add both NZ and HA.
IAH x 7 soon with 77Ws
LAX will soon be 20 per week made up of
10 pw NZ
7 pw DL
3 pw TN one stop service via PPT.

NZ516 wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

Zkpilot wrote:

Or another way to look at it:
HNL x2
LAX x2 (but actually 3x since NZ will do double daily-ish)
SFO x2
YVR x2
JFK x2
IAH x1
ORD x1
DFW x1

Or another way per week from highest to lowest

LAX x17
SFO x11
YVR x11
DFW x7
HNL x6
JFK x6
IAH x5
ORD x3

HNL might be higher than 6pw if you add both NZ and HA.
IAH x 7 soon with 77Ws
LAX will soon be 20 per week made up of
10 pw NZ
7 pw DL
3 pw TN one stop service via PPT.

We are talking NW23/24. I wouldn’t count TN even though it is effectively a through flight. We don’t actually know what frequency will look like exactly for NW, I would expect JFK to be higher. LAX may well be higher should AA return, possibly more NZ and also YVR/SFO should be higher.

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

Or another way per week from highest to lowest

LAX x17
SFO x11
YVR x11
DFW x7
HNL x6
JFK x6
IAH x5
ORD x3

HNL might be higher than 6pw if you add both NZ and HA.
IAH x 7 soon with 77Ws
LAX will soon be 20 per week made up of
10 pw NZ
7 pw DL
3 pw TN one stop service via PPT.

We are talking NW23/24. I wouldn’t count TN even though it is effectively a through flight. We don’t actually know what frequency will look like exactly for NW, I would expect JFK to be higher. LAX may well be higher should AA return, possibly more NZ and also YVR/SFO should be higher.

I would count TN unless it stops but I have not heard anything. Anything is possible of course.

Originair are ramping up in February on most of their routes.
NSN-PMR increasing to ten pw. HLZ- PMR and NSN- HLZ gaining flights. This is interesting comment at the bottom of the article.

Originair's statement also states The airline operated Nelson to Blenheim return flights twice daily while SH6 was closed for repairs in November and December. We have had many requests to continue this service and we are pleased to say this is being considered along with other routes and we hope to be able to finalise these plans very soon.

http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2023/01/ ... e.html?m=1

The NSN-BHE temporary service could be a permanent offering.

WLG787 wrote:

Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

The A359 to be used has 339 seats it's the largest aircraft in Delta's fleet. It's a huge commitment to start it up at daily from the get go. Imagine if NZ opened a brand new route with a daily service using their 77W it's a big step to take. A lot of seats to fill, UA and AA will be watching closely how it all pans out.

NZ516 wrote:

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

HNL might be higher than 6pw if you add both NZ and HA.
IAH x 7 soon with 77Ws
LAX will soon be 20 per week made up of
10 pw NZ
7 pw DL
3 pw TN one stop service via PPT.

We are talking NW23/24. I wouldn’t count TN even though it is effectively a through flight. We don’t actually know what frequency will look like exactly for NW, I would expect JFK to be higher. LAX may well be higher should AA return, possibly more NZ and also YVR/SFO should be higher.

I would count TN unless it stops but I have not heard anything. Anything is possible of course.

TN are a genuine indirect option, do they always use the same plane? Still it’s a connecting flight even in the same plane.

NZ516 wrote:

WLG787 wrote:

Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

The A359 to be used has 339 seats it's the largest aircraft in Delta's fleet. It's a huge commitment to start it up at daily from the get go. Imagine if NZ opened a brand new route with a daily service using their 77W it's a big step to take. A lot of seats to fill, UA and AA will be watching closely how it all pans out.

All DL’s long haul aircraft are similar in seat number bar the A332 which is smaller and can’t do AKL and these ex LA A359s at 339 seats, the A339/333/359 have 280-300 seats +- a few. They want to be competitive in the market, offering daily is common for the US carriers, it might reduce in NS if they are year round.

AA/UA are more established but started in NS at least than daily, always daily in NW.

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

ZK-NBT wrote:

We are talking NW23/24. I wouldn’t count TN even though it is effectively a through flight. We don’t actually know what frequency will look like exactly for NW, I would expect JFK to be higher. LAX may well be higher should AA return, possibly more NZ and also YVR/SFO should be higher.

I would count TN unless it stops but I have not heard anything. Anything is possible of course.

TN are a genuine indirect option, do they always use the same plane? Still it’s a connecting flight even in the same plane.

Depends which method you use of course. If you are in the travel agent side a routing with the same aircraft same flight number TN102 on both sectors is regarded as direct for AKL- PPT - LAX. So a one stop service as opposed to a non stop. An indirect routing would be the FJ option AKL-NAN-LAX with a different aircraft and different flight number for both sectors. While of course non stop is exactly non stop.

NZ516 wrote:

ZK-NBT wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

I would count TN unless it stops but I have not heard anything. Anything is possible of course.

TN are a genuine indirect option, do they always use the same plane? Still it’s a connecting flight even in the same plane.

Depends which method you use of course. If you are in the travel agent side a routing with the same aircraft same flight number TN102 on both sectors is regarded as direct for AKL- PPT - LAX. So a one stop service as opposed to a non stop. An indirect routing would be the FJ option AKL-NAN-LAX with a different aircraft and different flight number for both sectors. While of course non stop is exactly non stop.

TN is so small it is hard to say, it’s not like they feed from anywhere else like SYD. While I do agree technically it is direct AKL-PPT-LAX.

NZ did this with NZ5/6 LAX-AKL-MEL of NZ7/8 SFO-AKL-BNE for a while, but those flights still connected to other destinations ex AKL.

NZ516 wrote:

WLG787 wrote:

Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

The A359 to be used has 339 seats it's the largest aircraft in Delta's fleet. It's a huge commitment to start it up at daily from the get go. Imagine if NZ opened a brand new route with a daily service using their 77W it's a big step to take. A lot of seats to fill, UA and AA will be watching closely how it all pans out.

DL is roughly 9x the size of NZ though so it probably isn’t that much of an ask to get some of their customers to fly with them to AKL. Hell they probably have a lot of FF with a ton of miles to burn off so this could be a good way to do that in the first year.

Zkpilot wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

WLG787 wrote:

Delta to operate 2nd hand A359 sourced from LATAM on LAX - AKL - no premium economy!

https://thepointsguy.com/news/delta-air ... is-routes/

The A359 to be used has 339 seats it's the largest aircraft in Delta's fleet. It's a huge commitment to start it up at daily from the get go. Imagine if NZ opened a brand new route with a daily service using their 77W it's a big step to take. A lot of seats to fill, UA and AA will be watching closely how it all pans out.

DL is roughly 9x the size of NZ though so it probably isn’t that much of an ask to get some of their customers to fly with them to AKL. Hell they probably have a lot of FF with a ton of miles to burn off so this could be a good way to do that in the first year.

They are certainly a massive airline for sure and the scale of them compared to NZ is staggering.

Emirates have reconfirmed their commitment to serving CHC with their A380 in March 26 DXB departure. With this return I expect QF will reduce down to a single daily SYD- CHC 737 service.


https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/e ... ity.com%2F

I see EK448 DXB to AKL is diverting to SIN.

I presume the crew will time out. It'll be a long trip for the passengers.

Has anyone experienced a mid flight diversion with extended delay? I'm curious as to what happens.

NZ516 wrote:

Originair are ramping up in February on most of their routes.
NSN-PMR increasing to ten pw. HLZ- PMR and NSN- HLZ gaining flights. This is interesting comment at the bottom of the article.

I'm still surprised at how few HLZ-PMR flights there are. I think NZ ran 3 flights each weekday (i.e. 15 total) with B1900s before they were phased out. With Origin now we're at 4, none of which allow for (doing some business and) same-day-return in either direction.

NZ516 wrote:

Zkpilot wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

The A359 to be used has 339 seats it's the largest aircraft in Delta's fleet. It's a huge commitment to start it up at daily from the get go. Imagine if NZ opened a brand new route with a daily service using their 77W it's a big step to take. A lot of seats to fill, UA and AA will be watching closely how it all pans out.

DL is roughly 9x the size of NZ though so it probably isn’t that much of an ask to get some of their customers to fly with them to AKL. Hell they probably have a lot of FF with a ton of miles to burn off so this could be a good way to do that in the first year.

They are certainly a massive airline for sure and the scale of them compared to NZ is staggering.

I have an old colleague of mine who works as an airline consultant in the US who specialises in network and fleet management.
He's convinced that DL is also looking at ATL-AKL, and the potential of extending both LAX and ATL routes through AKL to Australia. Watch this space I guess

What I want to know is, why is it only this time that Delta has an opportunity to start flights to AKL when it could've also had an opportunity to start flights to the Kiwi city before the pandemic?

Philippine333 wrote:

What I want to know is, why is it only this time that Delta has an opportunity to start flights to AKL when it could've also had an opportunity to start flights to the Kiwi city before the pandemic?

They've never had this many A350's in their fleet for starters.
And pre-pandemic I think they were focused elsewhere.
Lastly... they were partners with VA back then, of whom had a fairly extensive trans-tasman offering at the time. So getting to NZ via the east coast of AUS with VA was basically the way to go.

aerohottie wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

Zkpilot wrote:

DL is roughly 9x the size of NZ though so it probably isn’t that much of an ask to get some of their customers to fly with them to AKL. Hell they probably have a lot of FF with a ton of miles to burn off so this could be a good way to do that in the first year.

They are certainly a massive airline for sure and the scale of them compared to NZ is staggering.

I have an old colleague of mine who works as an airline consultant in the US who specialises in network and fleet management.
He's convinced that DL is also looking at ATL-AKL, and the potential of extending both LAX and ATL routes through AKL to Australia. Watch this space I guess

I'll probably get in trouble for asking this here because it's "off-topic"... but how does one even get into working as a consultant to specialise in network/fleet management?

^ Genuine question coming from a young guy still figuring his life out lol

JJWess wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

They are certainly a massive airline for sure and the scale of them compared to NZ is staggering.

I have an old colleague of mine who works as an airline consultant in the US who specialises in network and fleet management.
He's convinced that DL is also looking at ATL-AKL, and the potential of extending both LAX and ATL routes through AKL to Australia. Watch this space I guess

I'll probably get in trouble for asking this here because it's "off-topic"... but how does one even get into working as a consultant to specialise in network/fleet management?

^ Genuine question coming from a young guy still figuring his life out lol

Well, going by his CV on LinkedIn

Studied a double degree with two majors and a minor (US university). Aviation Management and Economics degrees, minor in Applied Finance.

Graduate Management Trainee Program with Airline (18 months)
Revenue Analyst with the same airline (3 years) - Senior Analyst is final year
Senior Network Analyst with a different airline (2.5 years)
Market Leader with the same airline (3.5 years) - responsible for airline performance in a geographical region

Completed MBA while in Market Leader role

Senior Manager Revenue and Network Management with a different (smaller) airline (3 years)
VP Network Planning with different airline (2 years)
VP Network Planning and Partnerships with airline they started at (4.5 years)

Head of Aviation with large financial organisation (2 years)
Aviation Consultant (self employed) - current (4 years)

So approx 25 years professional experience. 2 Bachelors degrees and a Master degree. And most importantly, and large network of industry relationships and reputation built over a long time

What is the possibility of an Air India service from Auckland to New Delhi or Mumbai? Or an Etihad service from Abu Dhabi to Auckland through Australia?
Also, what's the possibility of Emirates starting a Dubai to Wellington service through Australia once they get their A350s or 787s?

Possible, unlikely.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/131 ... app-iPhone

Air NZ allows influencer Sam Chui into the cockpit. He is very lucky to be given the chance during flight operation.

JJWess wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

NZ516 wrote:

They are certainly a massive airline for sure and the scale of them compared to NZ is staggering.

I have an old colleague of mine who works as an airline consultant in the US who specialises in network and fleet management.
He's convinced that DL is also looking at ATL-AKL, and the potential of extending both LAX and ATL routes through AKL to Australia. Watch this space I guess

I'll probably get in trouble for asking this here because it's "off-topic"... but how does one even get into working as a consultant to specialise in network/fleet management?

^ Genuine question coming from a young guy still figuring his life out lol

Yes, best watch out for going off topic, strictly not allowed..

However good Q and anyone with insight, I'd love to know as well as this website does have a lot of in the know people around the world with good knowledge and experience

Sprite8806 wrote:

What is the possibility of an Air India service from Auckland to New Delhi or Mumbai? Or an Etihad service from Abu Dhabi to Auckland through Australia?
Also, what's the possibility of Emirates starting a Dubai to Wellington service through Australia once they get their A350s or 787s?

Unsure on the Air India options, perhaps when they get more aircraft and reinvent themselves they may look at it?

As for Etihad, I see this as a never gonna happen. They just don't seem that type of carrier as they're more of a boutique airline and they use codeshares with Air NZ across the Tasman.

The EK one is interesting as I asked the question in the Australian forum, wondering if EK might tag onto WLG from BNE new 77W service seeing as QF don't operate that route. I don't think they would tag to WLG where QF currently fly from (MEL and SYD).

aerohottie wrote:

JJWess wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

I have an old colleague of mine who works as an airline consultant in the US who specialises in network and fleet management.
He's convinced that DL is also looking at ATL-AKL, and the potential of extending both LAX and ATL routes through AKL to Australia. Watch this space I guess

I'll probably get in trouble for asking this here because it's "off-topic"... but how does one even get into working as a consultant to specialise in network/fleet management?

^ Genuine question coming from a young guy still figuring his life out lol

Well, going by his CV on LinkedIn

Studied a double degree with two majors and a minor (US university). Aviation Management and Economics degrees, minor in Applied Finance.

Graduate Management Trainee Program with Airline (18 months)
Revenue Analyst with the same airline (3 years) - Senior Analyst is final year
Senior Network Analyst with a different airline (2.5 years)
Market Leader with the same airline (3.5 years) - responsible for airline performance in a geographical region

Completed MBA while in Market Leader role

Senior Manager Revenue and Network Management with a different (smaller) airline (3 years)
VP Network Planning with different airline (2 years)
VP Network Planning and Partnerships with airline they started at (4.5 years)

Head of Aviation with large financial organisation (2 years)
Aviation Consultant (self employed) - current (4 years)

So approx 25 years professional experience. 2 Bachelors degrees and a Master degree. And most importantly, and large network of industry relationships and reputation built over a long time

Impressive. I'll have to note this down somewhere.
To keep the post on topic so I don't get our posts removed...

I think ATL-AKL would be really interesting! Although I'm surprised they didn't just go with that option first instead of LAX.
Did your old colleague provide a possible month/year on when we may see this? Or is it wayyy down the line?

JJWess wrote:

aerohottie wrote:

JJWess wrote:

I'll probably get in trouble for asking this here because it's "off-topic"... but how does one even get into working as a consultant to specialise in network/fleet management?

^ Genuine question coming from a young guy still figuring his life out lol

Well, going by his CV on LinkedIn

Studied a double degree with two majors and a minor (US university). Aviation Management and Economics degrees, minor in Applied Finance.

Graduate Management Trainee Program with Airline (18 months)
Revenue Analyst with the same airline (3 years) - Senior Analyst is final year
Senior Network Analyst with a different airline (2.5 years)
Market Leader with the same airline (3.5 years) - responsible for airline performance in a geographical region

Completed MBA while in Market Leader role

Senior Manager Revenue and Network Management with a different (smaller) airline (3 years)
VP Network Planning with different airline (2 years)
VP Network Planning and Partnerships with airline they started at (4.5 years)

Head of Aviation with large financial organisation (2 years)
Aviation Consultant (self employed) - current (4 years)

So approx 25 years professional experience. 2 Bachelors degrees and a Master degree. And most importantly, and large network of industry relationships and reputation built over a long time

Impressive. I'll have to note this down somewhere.
To keep the post on topic so I don't get our posts removed...

I think ATL-AKL would be really interesting! Although I'm surprised they didn't just go with that option first instead of LAX.
Did your old colleague provide a possible month/year on when we may see this? Or is it wayyy down the line?

LAX makes more sense for connections. DL fly nonstop to LAX from just about every significant city in the US. ATL is a bit far east and south to be a great connection point for alot of the US. Plus wouldn't have anywhere near the O and D of LAX
( despite Hotlanta being a great place ).

JJWess wrote:

Philippine333 wrote:

What I want to know is, why is it only this time that Delta has an opportunity to start flights to AKL when it could've also had an opportunity to start flights to the Kiwi city before the pandemic?

They've never had this many A350's in their fleet for starters.
And pre-pandemic I think they were focused elsewhere.
Lastly... they were partners with VA back then, of whom had a fairly extensive trans-tasman offering at the time. So getting to NZ via the east coast of AUS with VA was basically the way to go.

There must also be something about the combination of capability and economics of the A359. The 77E was strong in terms of payload at range but much thirstier than the 359. The B789 has good range but struggles with payload at longer ranges. The 359 seems able to combine full pax and some cargo even on those longer sectors. Add higher freight revenue into the mix and you can see how the A350 may be having a transformational impact on economics of some routes that carriers didn't previously regard as viable.