Air New Zealand was forced to dump dozens of passengers’ suitcases from the plane ahead of the very first New York-Auckland flight.
After weather conditions over the U.S. East Coast forced Air New Zealand to slightly reroute, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was at the limit of its non-stop range capability.
The carrier had to unload about 40 pieces of passengers’ luggage from the luggage compartment of a 4-year-old aircraft to reduce the overall weight and guarantee a safe flight of 14,207 km to Auckland.
Air New Zealand’s flagship flight NZ1 took off from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport almost two hours late on Saturday evening and eventually landed at 8:27 am on Monday after a 4:36 pm flight.
The airline first announced its intention to add a direct flight to New York a couple of years ago, but the pandemic put those plans on hold. It wasn’t until March 2022 that Air New Zealand finally confirmed that it was launching its first-ever flight to JFK Airport.
Air New Zealand flies to New York three times a week on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in Business, Premium Economy, and Economy Class. Each flight has a limited number of Skycouches in Economy Class, which allow passengers to sit in a row of three seats.
The maximum number of passengers is reduced initially due to weight restrictions on the return trip from New York, meaning that some seats in the economy class cabin are left free to increase the range of the aircraft.
Unfavorable weather conditions on Saturday night forced the Dreamliner to further reduce its capacity due to additional fuel requirements.
The airline has already apologized to passengers “for the inconvenience caused.”
Most passengers on the first flight had no idea that their suitcases had been unloaded in New York and had to wait over an hour at the baggage carousel in Auckland before it became apparent that the baggage had never made it to New Zealand.
It is believed that Air New Zealand launched its Auckland-New York route to seize the initiative from rival Qantas. The latter has planned Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul non-stop flights that will eventually connect Australia’s Sydney and Melbourne with London and New York airports.
However, Qantas now intends to compete with Air New Zealand by launching its flights to New York from Sydney with a connection in Auckland. Qantas is expected to take this route in June 2023.