“We expect the addition of Chicago to our network to be an attractive option for Kiwis wanting to explore the city or head on to other North American destinations,” said Christopher Luxon, CEO of Air New Zealand.
“As well as being great for travellers, this new route is good news for New Zealand, as we expect it to contribute around NZ$70 million annually to our economy and we know that more than 50 per cent of spending by US visitors to New Zealand is done outside the main centres. We’ll be working alongside our colleagues at United Airlines to grow the route and visitor numbers in both directions.”
Travellers flying into Chicago with Air New Zealand will be able to connect onto codeshare flights operated by United to more than 100 destinations across the US.
The full schedule for the new service is as follows:
| Flight No. | From | To | Departs | Arrives | Days | Dates |
| NZ26/UA6728 | Auckland (AKL) | Chicago (ORD) | 2010 | 1615 | Wed, Fri, Sun | Nov 30, 2018-Mar 8, 2019 |
| 1715 | 10 Mar, 2019-29 Mar, 2019 | |||||
| NZ27/UA6727 | Chicago (ORD) | Auckland (AKL) | 1910 | 0630+2 | Wed, Fri, Sun | Nov 30, 2018-Mar 8, 2019 |
| 2010 | Mar 10, 2019-Mar 29, 2019 |
The launch of Air New Zealand’s new Chicago service also coincides with partner United Airlines’ extension of its seasonal Auckland-San Francisco route, which will become a year-round thrice-weekly service as of April 2019. United began flying the route using its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft back in October 2017, which notably feature its new Polaris business class seats.
That said, the B777-300ER will only operate the Auckland-San Francisco route from November to March. Between April and October, the route will be flown using the B777-200ER.
Business Traveller reviewed United’s Polaris business class seats on the airline’s San Francisco-Hong Kong route last year.