Air New Zealand’s non-stop service to Vancouver takes off

Tonight will see the departure of Air New Zealand’s first non-stop service from Auckland to Vancouver.

Onboard Air New Zealand’s new Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, which departs at 8pm, will be senior Government, trade and tourism representatives, as well as Kiwi holiday makers eager to check out the many tourist attractions of British Columbia.

More than twenty business people will accompany Minister of Trade Phil Goff on a delegation designed to highlight and stimulate trade opportunities between the two nations.

Air New Zealand Group General Manager International Airline Ed Sims says that customer enthusiasm for the non-stop Auckland-Vancouver service has run ahead of new long-haul routes such as Shanghai, which was introduced last year.

“The customer uptake since our announcement of a seasonal service in February was so encouraging that by June, we’d made the decision to take the service year-round,” he says.

Customers travelling on the inaugural service will experience a taste of Canada on arrival at Auckland International Airport, with a winter-wonderland snow covered departure gate where they’ll be served refreshments and entertained with music.

“We are always looking for fresh ways to enhance the experiences our customers have throughout their entire journey. The strong cultural links between Maori and First Nations people have given us numerous ways in which to make the experience on this flight even more memorable,” Mr Sims says.

Canada is already a rich source of tourists to New Zealand with 47,000 visitor arrivals every year. The new service has the potential to double the numbers of visitors travelling directly to New Zealand, bypassing stops in the United States or Australia en route.

Long-term prices for this non-stop service start (ex Auckland) from $2389 (excluding airport taxes)

Northern Lights Sale fares start at $1799 ex Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Sales end 15 December 2007 for travel commenced between 13 March – 30 November 2008.

Air New Zealand’s non-stop service to Vancouver:

Three services a week over peak travel periods

(Nov 2007 – March 2008 and July – August 2008)

Two services a week over non-peak travel periods

(April – June 2008 and September – October 2008)

Flight number Schedule

NZ84 Departs AKL 2000

Arrived YVR 1245 (same day arrival)

NZ83 Departs YVR 1900

Arrives AKL 0630+2 (two calendar days later)