Air New Zealand Increases to Daily Direct Service to Houston
Air New Zealand increased its new USA flight to daily services on its Auckland-Houston route for the peak season from December to February. The airline launched the route in December 2015 and has been operating five weekly return services. The Houston service was proving so popular that the airline stepped up frequency to daily services from December through February and then will offer flights five times per week for the rest of the year.
“Sales are strong with Kiwi and Australian customers, [they’re] loving the fact they can now access the U.S. Midwest and South as well as key destinations such as Chicago and New York via Houston,” said Air New Zealand Chief Sales and Commercial Officer, Cam Wallace. “We’re also seeing good growth in the number of American travelers using this service to visit New Zealand and Australia.”
In order to take advantage of this new route, Brand USA New Zealand worked with media partner NZME, New Zealand’s leading publisher, to create a multi-dimensional campaign to educate and inspire potential travelers to consider the Southern States, accessible from the new Houston flight. The campaign included digital, mobile, and print as well as Brand USA’s first radio station promotion/competition. The campaign lasted July through September in advance of the flight launch. There was also a partnership with Flight Centre, a retail partner, to generate bookings to the USA. This campaign brought together three of New Zealand’s strongest and most influential companies that drive visitation to the USA.
New Zealand continues to grow as an inbound market and visitation has increased 23% in 2014 and 110% in the past 10 years.