Last month it emerged that Air New Zealand
was studying a possible return to London, offering a direct connection. This would inevitably not be a non-stop flight, though, and would require the aircraft selected to refuel at a destination along the way. It has revealed that Los Angeles International Airport
is its preferred stopover point for the new flights that will operate with its Boeing 787
fleet.
Despite having secured daily slots for the route at London Gatwick Airport
as of summer 2025, it has emerged that the airline will not be able to use them next year due to aircraft availability issues. It says that summer 2026 is a more realistic timeline.
The details: Air New Zealand’s London plan
Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran shared some details regarding the airline’s London plans in an interview with RNZ. He began by confirming that the carrier had been granted daily slots for services to Gatwick which it “didn’t expect to actually get”. Those slots, Foran said, were meant to allow Air New Zealand to begin service to London as of April 2025.
The flight to London would not be brand new. In fact, Air New Zealand had operated flights to London Heathrow Airport
(LHR) with its Boeing 777
up until 2020. It was meant to suspend the route in October that year, but even had to bring it forward due to low occupancy rates. It officially left London at the end of March. At the time, a spokesperson said the following:
“The Atlantic has become one of the most hotly contested routes in the world and Air New Zealand lacks the home market advantages and scale of the North American and European airlines we’re up against.”
Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock
It sold its valuable LHR slots to 
United Airlines
for a whopping $27 million in mid-2020. While the carrier applied for slots at both Heathrow and Gatwick this time around, it was only granted some at the latter. This makes sense given the capacity constraints faced by London’s main gateway. Foran shared that following with RNZ.
“We’ve had a look at London again and there’s a couple of things that have changed. Number 1: we would be flying with an aircraft that has fewer seats on it, so that would be a 787 instead of a 777.”
The second reason, he argues, is related to its loyalty program that “continues to strengthen”.
We know that by not going direct through London, that is not what our members want, what our Airpoints members want.”
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Air New Zealand has the most capacity overall to the United States.
The route will probably operate via Los Angeles, as it did when it was previously offered by Air New Zealand.
“That’s something that we are looking at and I would say that is more likely than not.”
Photo: Toshi K | Shutterstock
When asked whether New York JFK Airport
was an option, Foran responded:
“We have had a look at that, our preference as I said would probably to go through LA when we decide to do it.”
Aircraft availability problems
The whole route is dependant on aircraft availability issues, though. Foran points to Boeing delivery delays that have caused a network rethink. This, combined with Rolls Royce Trent 1000
engine problems, means that Air New Zealand has to be particularly careful when it comes to route planning. While slots are available at Gatwick from April 2025, Air New Zealand “will not be able to do that.” The CEO continued:
“So when we look at that data we think it makes sense to turn that on again [London] but it is going to be dependant when we can get some aircraft and those aircraft come out of Boeing. My guess at the moment is that we will struggle to do it next year. It may have to be the year after.”
“Boeing are producing around about 6x 787s a month at the moment. They need to get the production up to about 8 or 9.”
Air New Zealand currently has 14 Boeing 787s in its fleet of which four are listed as inactive according to ch-aviation data. It hopes to get “a couple of aircraft from them at the beginning of 2026 and then a couple more at the end of 2026.” It has five 787-9s on order as well as three of the larger -10 variant.
Photo: Air New Zealand
Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine issues
The four planes out of service are suffering from Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine issues. This has had a profound impact on the carrier’s network. One of the more significant examples of this is the fact that ANZ had to cancel its Auckland to Chicago connection in March. It says it remains committed to returning to Chicago, but “once again that will be dependant” on aircraft availability and Trent 1000 issues. Foran says Trent 1000 issues are expcted to continue for “at least probably two to three years.”
“I know that sounds really, really terrible but that happens to be the fact of it. […] I can tell you she’s pretty tough out there in the supply chain at the moment and it will be another two plus years before some of these things are resolved.”
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In other news, during a recent trip to Toulouse (France) where he met with Rolls-Royce, Foran also signed an agreement with Airbus for “two or three” Airbus A321s.
