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Qantas’ planned non-stop flights from Auckland to New York face questions over their long-term viability after a similar service by Air New Zealand was plagued with weather problems in its debut week.
In one instance, the carrier planned a stopover in Fiji due to headwinds, while in a second, bags were removed so the aircraft could avoid a forecast cyclone.
The 787-9s have a traditional range of 14,010km, far shorter than the A350-1000s that Qantas will eventually use to fly Project Sunrise flights to New York and London, which can travel for near 18,000km.
Qantas is planning a similar service to the Big Apple from Australia via Auckland using the same 787-9s from 14 June next year.
Air New Zealand described the latest weather incident as “very rare”, but it will raise questions about the long-term sustainability for both airlines in using the Boeing aircraft for the 16 or 17-hour trip.
However, the Flying Kangaroo pointed to an earlier statement that the aircraft it ordered would be designed “with more room and fewer seats than most of our competitors”. It said the Dreamliner cabins are “well suited to longer international flights”.
Qantas has also been using the same aircraft for its 15-hour flights from Perth to Rome.
Air New Zealand’s chief operational integrity and safety officer, David Morgan, termed the planned layover a “gas and go”.
“Refuelling in Nadi is our standard contingency plan for these circumstances,” said Morgan.
“While these sorts of headwinds are very rare, they do happen, and we’ve planned for it.”
The disruption was eventually avoided based on “actual and observed conditions” nearer to takeoff.
“Consequently, they were able to get our customers safely to Auckland, without the need to refuel in Nadi, two hours before their expected arrival time of 11.30am,” said Morgan.
“Our teams have been communicating with the 80 customers who had onward connecting flights and they have all been rebooked and re-accommodated.”
Australian Aviation reported this week how the first-ever Air New Zealand direct service launched nine months before Qantas’ rival service begins.
The Kiwi flag carrier’s CEO, Greg Foran, quipped his staff would give its rival “a good wave when we pass them in the skies” ahead of the 16-hour flight.
The 787-9, ZK-NZN, departed Auckland at 4:23pm on 17 September as flight NZ2 and landed in New York 4:09pm the same day due to time zone differences.
The three-times-weekly route was given the prestigious ‘NZ1’ flight number for its 17-hour flight from New York to Auckland, and NZ2 for the 16-hour reverse.
“As one of the world’s greatest cities, Air New Zealand is proud to add the Big Apple to its list of 29 international destinations,” said Foran.
“By adding greater access to the East Coast of the US, we’re connecting our North American customers to the possibilities of 20 destinations within New Zealand as well as the Pacific and Australia, all within easy reach. This is terrific for our customers.”
The carrier will soon serve seven destinations in North America: Chicago (from 31 October), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, and New York City.
It comes as Qantas plans to launch its own New York service via Auckland from 14 June next year.
Its service will operate three days a week “initially” and also use 787-9s, three of which will be newly delivered in 2023.
Rod Pickin
says:It would be fair to say that the B787-9 is definitely not the right aircraft for AKL JFK, more importantly though JFK AKL direct ops, in the same way neither is the A330-200 the right aircraft for OZ SFO OZ flights but the marketing people keep plugging away at their cause without, it would seem, any considerations for the real practicality of their proposals. Sure they may well have identified a true market for such travel but until QF receive the right aircraft to complete that new business plan let us look at the other temporary options or even delay the plan pending correct equipment receipt. Maybe in the interim, SYD PPT or RAR or HNL JFK and visa versa ex JFK could be a more profitable option. By the way, how are we going getting the “Parked” equipment and their crews back on line? to me that is a far more important task at the moment rather than messing with very iffy cost and operationally effective sectors.
Patrickk
says:Qantas does a similar length flight to Dallas and has also had tech stops in Fiji (A380s), and also drops passengers westbound. Is there a story here.
Rocket
says:This article is rubbish.
The Qantas 787-9s are inherently more suited because they have something like 100 less seats than normal. Qantas thought this through and chose an interim aeroplane and configured it for this particular mission and other similar ones.
We know they left bags behind on QF9 ex DRW but that was more to do with the re-routing and the diversions en-route required due to the Ukraine invasion by Russia.
Just a bit of a click bait article really.
Clipped Wing
says:Just because NZ have done an ordinary job of it does not mean others will do the same. With the exception of adding the flight to their schedule, did NZ actually complete any proper planning for this ULH flight? Is the configuration set out to meet the demands for ULH flying?
Regardless of all of this, there will always be certain circumstances that are beyond anyone’s control – The cyclone mentioned in the article for instance. While painful to deal with, these are unforeseen and need to be viewed in the same light as if it was a Brisbane to Cairns flight that was delayed/cancelled due to a cyclone in the region.
Paul G
says:The extra 66 passengers and luggage on the Air NZ flights are a issue qantas wont face
Waveney Bowman
says:My daughter and her partner and their 2 sons have just been informed that they have been bounced from the ANZflight from NY to Auckland on Sept.29. They now are supposed to be routed with several stops leaving at a much earlier time which is causing great difficulty with their work schedules. They are obviously very disappointed in ANZ.