Air New Zealand is marking the 40th anniversary of its direct service between Auckland and Los Angeles, making it the longest-serving airline on the non-stop route.
On April 1, 1984, an Air NZ Boeing 747 departed the City of Sails and flew non-stop to the City of Angels for the first time - since then, the carrier has flown daily services aside from when they were suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously, the airline had flown to Los Angeles with stopovers in either Nadi, Tahiti, or Honolulu, first landing in the Californian city in 1965.
In the four decades since that first non-stop service, Air NZ said it's operated more than 40,000 direct flights carrying more than 12 million passengers on the route.
Among the most notable of those passengers was Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 and a Sumatran tiger on its way to Auckland Zoo in 2022.
Air NZ is not the only airline to operate the popular trans-Pacific service. Over the peak summer period of late 2023 through early 2024 four airlines were flying it daily, with Aotearoa's national carrier facing competition from all three of the major US airlines: United, Delta and American.
For many years, AKL-LAX was part of Air NZ's flagship London route, bearing the NZ1 or NZ2 flight numbers.
They are now instead are bestowed upon the New York direct services.
To celebrate 40 years of Auckland-Los Angeles direct, Air NZ is running giveaways and hosting festivities at the gate lounge and departure gate in LAX.
"LA has long been a popular destination for Kiwis wanting to explore the city where movie magic is made," said Scott Carr, the airline's general manager long haul.
"It also serves as an important gateway for the US and beyond, connecting millions of our customers to their destinations over the past 40 years.
"Likewise, for our US customers, our LAX to AKL service has been one of our most popular routes for connecting visitors to Aotearoa. The Kiwi experience really does start onboard with Air NZ and there's no better way to begin a New Zealand adventure."
Today, Air NZ operates up to 10 return AKL-LAX services per week.
