Air New Zealand suspends Chicago route

Star Alliance member Air New Zealand will pause its Auckland – Chicago nonstop service from 31 March to 25 October 2024, Report informs via Business Traveller.

The airline says the route is being put on hold due to ongoing challenges with the availability of serviceable Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines powering its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, which is impacting airlines around the world.

Customers with bookings on Air New Zealand’s Chicago services will be rebooked with a connection through another US airport to get them to their destination.

Customers who booked directly with Air New Zealand will receive their new itinerary within 72 hours and do not need to contact Air New Zealand. Those who booked via a travel agent should contact their agent to confirm changes to their itinerary.

Passengers can also opt to receive a full refund or place their booking into credit.

Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer, Leanne Geraghty, says it was a difficult decision to make, but one that results in the least number of customers impacted.

“Unfortunately, Air New Zealand continues to be impacted by challenges with availability of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, meaning we will now have up to three aircraft unavailable for an extended period, so we’ve had to review our schedule.

“We made the tough decision to temporarily pause the Chicago route while maintaining our schedule of up to 35 flights each week to six ports across the US and Canada, so there are still plenty of options to get to Chicago, the US, and beyond.”

Air New Zealand also flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York and Honolulu in the USA, as well as Vancouver in neighbouring Canada.