‘Delta will be working with its representative in New Zealand, the Walshe Group, over the coming months to ensure we have the right resources in market to support our daily flight,’ says Nicole Bennett, sales manager Australia, New Zealand with the airline.

‘The team is looking forward to working with our important agency and tourism partners to grow travellers (numbers) visiting both  the USA and New Zealand.’

Brent Thomas, chief operating officer of House of Travel, says the demand for another LAX-AKL service certainly exists.

‘The demand for North America was growing before Covid and that’s happening again. The more capacity we have, the easier it is for agents to fit flights into their clients’ itineraries.

‘Los Angeles and the West Coast are important in themselves but this also offers great connections to the rest of North America, Central and South America, the Caribbean and beyond.’

Flight Centre’s general manager of product, Victoria Courtney also welcomes the news.  ‘We know that an increase in competition means more capacity for customers, and this too can be reflected in airfares. But also, it means more Americans are able to fly into New Zealand, which will help with our rebound,’ says Courtney.

‘It’s been great to have several North American carriers seeing the benefits of serving the NZ market. American Airlines has been offering direct flights to Texas, United Airlines is flying direct to San Francisco, and more recently Air Canada is now flying direct to Vancouver. The United States is now more accessible than ever and with increased competition, ultimately the consumer benefits the most from it.’

Delta will offer Delta One (lie flat premium cabin), Delta Comfort+ and Main cabin on the service.