LONDON- Air New Zealand (NZ) is making efforts to resume direct flights between Auckland (AKL) and London, the United Kingdom (UK) but the airline is struggling to secure the necessary landing slots at London Heathrow Airport (LHR).
The airline has requested a daily slot at Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, but has not been granted the slot. This is not surprising, as Heathrow is an extremely slot-constrained airport, with far more airlines requesting slots than can be accommodated, Ishrion Aviation reported.
Air New Zealand London Flights
If they were granted the approval, it would have been one of the longest flights in the world. The AKL-LHR is 11,405 mi (18,354 km).
Currently, the longest non-stop flight is between Singapore and New York JFK, operated by Singapore Airlines (SQ) using an Airbus A350.
Note- They cannot fly this non-stop as they don’t have ultra-long-haul aircraft to operate this route. On the other hand, its neighbor carrier Qantas (QF) is working on Project Sunrise, which will help them operate such 20-hour-long routes.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Air New Zealand operated a fifth-freedom route between Los Angeles (LAX) and London Heathrow. It’s unclear if the airline intends to restore this particular routing or use a different stopover point for its planned London service.
Also, there are rumors that they might operate flights to London’s other airport with a layover in Canada.
Gaining access to Heathrow slots is a major challenge. The airport’s slot system is highly competitive, with dozens of airlines vying for a limited number of available slots. Nearly all slot requests are denied, as there is simply not enough capacity to meet demand.
The most viable path for Air New Zealand to reenter the London market would likely be to purchase or lease an existing Heathrow slot from another airline. However, these slots are extremely valuable and command high prices.
For example, in a previous transaction, Oman Air (WY) paid a record $75 million to acquire an early morning Heathrow slot from Kenya Airways (KQ).
Also, Read Air New Zealand Begins 787 Retrofit as First Aircraft Lands in Singapore
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