Air New Zealand is thrilled to announce it will expand its North American presence by opening a fifth gateway this December. The airline will soon provide nonstop service between Houston, Texas and Auckland, New Zealand up to five times per week. Tickets are expected to go on sale in May, with flights commencing mid-December, 2015.

Air New Zealand’s completely refitted Boeing 777-200 aircraft will operate the route, providing more comfort and connectivity to New Zealand for North American customers. This route will have a flight time of 14 hours and 30 minutes to Auckland, and the return leg will have a flight time of 13 hours and 50 minutes. Air New Zealand’s Star Alliance partner United Airlines, which has a large Houston-based hub, will codeshare into Houston from numerous North American cities.

The fully refurbished 777-200 aircraft includes 26 lie-flat beds in Business Premier, 40 seats in Premium Economy and 246 Economy seats including 18 rows of Economy Skycouch™ within the Economy cabin. In addition to delicious Kiwi-inspired cuisine and a great selection of New Zealand wines, customers can also enjoy over 1800 hours of on-demand inflight entertainment available via personal touch screens.

Air New Zealand, celebrating its 75^th anniversary on April 30, is also set to commemorate 50 years of flying from North America later this year. The airline began service from Los Angeles to Auckland (via Nadi & Honolulu) on December 14, 1965. With the addition of Houston, Air New Zealand will offer direct service to New Zealand from five North American gateways, also including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Honolulu.