It’s a walk down memory lane as Air New Zealand celebrates 20 incredible years of linking New Zealanders directly with the charm and innovation of San Francisco.
In the two decades since the inaugural flight on 30 June 2004 to the ‘City by the Bay’, Air New Zealand has carried more than three million passengers across 11,800 flights between the two cities. The route proved so popular that by 2005, the airline doubled its services to six return services per week.
Air New Zealand General Manager International Jeremy O’Brien says San Francisco has been a popular route for both Kiwi travellers and US customers heading to New Zealand.
“San Francisco is an important city for Air New Zealand and continues to be extremely popular with our customers both as a city to visit and as a stopover point.
“In just 12 hours, Kiwis can swap the sights of the Auckland Harbour Bridge for that of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and visit other local attractions including Alcatraz Island, Fisherman’s Wharf, or the Hillard family house from Mrs. Doubtfire.
“San Francisco also plays a crucial role in our cargo operations, with 3,500 tonnes carried annually between Auckland and San Francisco, including high-quality New Zealand lamb and fresh seafood.
“This supports vital high-value trade links between New Zealand and the United States.”
While the route today is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, it was initially launched using a 747-400 in a special Lord of the Rings livery, which flew the route right up to our final commercial service for the 747 in our fleet on 12 September 2014.
In addition to flying to San Francisco, Air New Zealand currently operates flights to Honolulu, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York with connections to over 100 domestic US destinations with our alliance partner United Airlines.
It was on this route that Air New Zealand also flew its final Boeing 747 service, a flight I was lucky enough to cover in my previous role as a reporter at TV3 in New Zealand.
The inaugural flight took place on 30 June 2004, utilising a 392-seat Boeing 747-400, which featured our special Lord of the Rings livery. Since 2004 Air New Zealand has carried just over 3 million people between Auckland and San Francisco route across a total of 11,857 flights.
At the time of launch, San Francisco was Air New Zealand’s 21st international destination.
