Dec 24, 2015, 2:08 pm
Last edit by: Mwenenzi
American Begins LAX - AKL / Auckland, New Zealand 788 Flights 23 June 2016
No flights 5 August 2017 and 5 October 2017 Refer to post 230 link.
American’s Los Angeles to Auckland flight will be suspended from August to October, and will then be upgraded from a 787-8 to a 787-9
Departs LAX at 10:45 p.m.
Arrives at AKL at 6:35 a.m., two days later
AKL-LAX
Departs AKL at 1:20 p.m.
Arrives at LAX at 6:20 a.m., same day
Enhanced service includes mattress pads, pajamas and new meals items in Business Class.
If tonight's sampling at the launch event was an accurate preview, then here's the menu they provided for LAX-AKL:
Canape:
Salmon Caviar Tartlet
Main Plates:
Grilled Beef Filet, balsamic butter, twice baked potato, baby squash
Eggplant Lasagne, pomodoro sauce
Pesto Grilled Shrimp
Dessert:
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Brownie, Strawberry Cheesecake)
Mid-Flight Snack:
Angus Beef Slider
White Wine:
Mt. Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc, North Canterbury, NZ
Red Wine:
Opawa Pinot Noir, Marlborough, NZ
Canape:
Salmon Caviar Tartlet
Main Plates:
Grilled Beef Filet, balsamic butter, twice baked potato, baby squash
Eggplant Lasagne, pomodoro sauce
Pesto Grilled Shrimp
Dessert:
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Brownie, Strawberry Cheesecake)
Mid-Flight Snack:
Angus Beef Slider
White Wine:
Mt. Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc, North Canterbury, NZ
Red Wine:
Opawa Pinot Noir, Marlborough, NZ
Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines will add new nonstop service between its trans-Pacific gateway hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Auckland Airport (AKL) in June 2016, pending regulatory approvals. The route to Auckland provides American's customers direct access to a new destination and further strengthens the airline's joint business with Qantas Airways. American has added six new trans-Pacific routes over the last three years, nearly doubling its presence in the region...
...American plans to operate its new daily service between LAX and AKL with the newest addition to its fleet, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner features a state-of-the-art onboard travel experience including international Wi-Fi, as well as higher humidity and pressurization closer to sea level conditions, leaving customers more refreshed after their flight. Every seat has a touchscreen monitor equipped with up to 260 movies, 240 TV shows, 13 radio channels, 350 albums and 20 games, along with universal AC power outlets and a USB connection. The aircraft is configured with 28 fully lie-flat Business Class seats, each with direct-aisle access. There are an additional 55 Main Cabin Extra seats with extra legroom, and 143 Main Cabin seats. Link
...American plans to operate its new daily service between LAX and AKL with the newest addition to its fleet, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The Dreamliner features a state-of-the-art onboard travel experience including international Wi-Fi, as well as higher humidity and pressurization closer to sea level conditions, leaving customers more refreshed after their flight. Every seat has a touchscreen monitor equipped with up to 260 movies, 240 TV shows, 13 radio channels, 350 albums and 20 games, along with universal AC power outlets and a USB connection. The aircraft is configured with 28 fully lie-flat Business Class seats, each with direct-aisle access. There are an additional 55 Main Cabin Extra seats with extra legroom, and 143 Main Cabin seats. Link
Link to Australian Business Traveller article.
AA: service to Auckland, N. Z. / LAX-AKL as of 23 Jun 2016 (master thd)
Sep 2, 2017, 6:49 pm
#272
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: AA EXP, Hertz Gold Plus, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 338
It took four phone calls and two weeks "on request" but I finally got our AKL-SYD-LAX-East Coast return flight ticketed, first flight QF metal then AA.
Last edited by taxatty56; Sep 5, 2017 at 8:30 pm
Sep 8, 2017, 7:36 am
#273
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: JFK/LGA
Programs: AA EXP/5 MM, BA Blue Bayou, HH LT Diamond
Posts: 5,828
AA.com still says this flight operating "every day"
https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/...ew-zealand.jsp
https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/...ew-zealand.jsp
Oct 23, 2017, 12:17 pm
#274
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: BNA
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 766
Just flew this route for the 2nd time. I'm 4 of 4 for SWUs clearing on the longhaul segment. Though, I've traveled in the shoulder season, May and October. For this last trip, C inventory was available to confirm at time of purchase. Even made a last day change to return this trip for only $100 difference and SWU was preserved. It doesn't seem like many AA elites fly this route, compared to SYD.
The 789 is very comfortable, and have had great service each way. Slept like a baby even at 6'5". Lounge at AKL (Qantas) is usually pretty packed but fine. Look out when checking bags on return, as AKL counter gets full and the Priority lane is usually jammed up. This trip, I queued in the coach line and actually went faster since there are multiple kiosks, etc. On landing at LAX, I've never had a real line thru customs - always faster than bags at least. Breakfast and showers at QF First lounge at LAX upon return (before domestic connection) are glorious. I went through TBIT security and there was zero line.
I return in February, thinking upgrade will be MUCH tougher - might just buy biz class and crush some EQMs.
The 789 is very comfortable, and have had great service each way. Slept like a baby even at 6'5". Lounge at AKL (Qantas) is usually pretty packed but fine. Look out when checking bags on return, as AKL counter gets full and the Priority lane is usually jammed up. This trip, I queued in the coach line and actually went faster since there are multiple kiosks, etc. On landing at LAX, I've never had a real line thru customs - always faster than bags at least. Breakfast and showers at QF First lounge at LAX upon return (before domestic connection) are glorious. I went through TBIT security and there was zero line.
I return in February, thinking upgrade will be MUCH tougher - might just buy biz class and crush some EQMs.
Last edited by oysterhead43; Oct 23, 2017 at 12:26 pm
Oct 23, 2017, 1:59 pm
#275
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
If you want to fly business in February on this route, I'd book (and pay for it) now.
Nov 14, 2017, 3:58 pm
#277
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
In any case, I don't see any upgrade availability the last couple of weeks in March (unsurprising), but overall business class seems a lot less sold out than in February. Unfortunately, since you can't confirm in advance if your cousin/fiance don't have status they are going to be near the bottom of the upgrade list. So I'd probably not get their hopes up too high, although my flight last year went out with open seats in business so anyone on the list would have cleared presumably.
Nov 14, 2017, 11:13 pm
#278
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: Aeromexico Platinum and AA Exec Platinum
Posts: 212
PE upgrade luck?
I'm EP have been waitlisted for SWU for 5 months for a flight next week with return before Christmas. The outbound looks possible to clear but the return not so good. There are plenty of PE seats available. Is there any chance that as a EP the AKL gate agent gives us PE?
Nov 15, 2017, 10:25 pm
#279
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: BNA
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 766
I'm EP have been waitlisted for SWU for 5 months for a flight next week with return before Christmas. The outbound looks possible to clear but the return not so good. There are plenty of PE seats available. Is there any chance that as a EP the AKL gate agent gives us PE?
Nov 20, 2017, 10:05 pm
#280
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: LAX/ORD/HNL
Programs: AA EXP, 4.6 MM, LT Pt, HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 443
I was on flight 82 from AKL to LAX this morning (Nov. 20) and thought I would share the experience. My traveling companion and I left Queenstown on Air New Zealand fight 614 and arrived at AKL at 11:25 AM. We had plenty of time to kill so we hung out in the Qantas Lounge and periodically shopped in an attempt to get rid of the last of our NZ cash. On my shopping excursion, I took a photo of the AA 789 (N824AN) that was getting prepped for our trip to LAX. It was neatly juxtaposed with an Air New Zealand 787.
On our way to Gate 6 for our scheduled 3:20 PM departure, I happened to notice what I thought was a cool amalgamation of oneworld airlines.
Boarding started about 10 minutes after the AA app said it had started. At my seat were a Flagship Business menu, a Cole Haan amenity kit, Bose headphones, a mattress pad, duvet, pillow, and a bottle of water. An FA came through offering OJ or champagne and another FA came through offering newspapers and pajamas. The new pajamas are kind of cool – they certainly fit better than the old ones AA handed out.
Pushback from the gate was pretty much on schedule and we were soon airborne and on our way to LAX. Our flight attendant was Kat and she was great throughout the entire flight. Dinner service commenced about an hour and a half into the flight. Kat told me that the menu was exactly as printed except for the wines and champagne due to the catering issue at LAX. This didn’t affect me at all since I wasn’t planning on drinking any wine but was probably disappointing to those who were looking forward to sampling some of the New Zealand wines. The first course consisted of a very nice salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing and chicken spring rolls with a Thai sweet chili sauce. It was excellent.
For the main course I had preselected the Chicken Tikka Masala. I had expected to eat only a bite or two of this dish, but it was so good, I ate the whole thing. That is very unusual for me and is a testament to how good this dish was. I highly recommend it if you see it on a menu offering from AA.
I passed on dessert and read for a couple of hours. Kat offered to make my bed for me but I told her I could handle it. Got about four hours of sleep, read some more and then had a full breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, etc. Arrival at LAX was just about as scheduled. We quickly cleared arrival formalities and were soon on our way home. This flight was the very nice conclusion of a two week trip to a beautiful land.
On our way to Gate 6 for our scheduled 3:20 PM departure, I happened to notice what I thought was a cool amalgamation of oneworld airlines.
Boarding started about 10 minutes after the AA app said it had started. At my seat were a Flagship Business menu, a Cole Haan amenity kit, Bose headphones, a mattress pad, duvet, pillow, and a bottle of water. An FA came through offering OJ or champagne and another FA came through offering newspapers and pajamas. The new pajamas are kind of cool – they certainly fit better than the old ones AA handed out.
Pushback from the gate was pretty much on schedule and we were soon airborne and on our way to LAX. Our flight attendant was Kat and she was great throughout the entire flight. Dinner service commenced about an hour and a half into the flight. Kat told me that the menu was exactly as printed except for the wines and champagne due to the catering issue at LAX. This didn’t affect me at all since I wasn’t planning on drinking any wine but was probably disappointing to those who were looking forward to sampling some of the New Zealand wines. The first course consisted of a very nice salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing and chicken spring rolls with a Thai sweet chili sauce. It was excellent.
For the main course I had preselected the Chicken Tikka Masala. I had expected to eat only a bite or two of this dish, but it was so good, I ate the whole thing. That is very unusual for me and is a testament to how good this dish was. I highly recommend it if you see it on a menu offering from AA.
I passed on dessert and read for a couple of hours. Kat offered to make my bed for me but I told her I could handle it. Got about four hours of sleep, read some more and then had a full breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, etc. Arrival at LAX was just about as scheduled. We quickly cleared arrival formalities and were soon on our way home. This flight was the very nice conclusion of a two week trip to a beautiful land.
Last edited by marnold3; Nov 20, 2017 at 11:14 pm Reason: additonal content
Nov 20, 2017, 11:18 pm
#282
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: LAX/ORD/HNL
Programs: AA EXP, 4.6 MM, LT Pt, HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 443
Nov 21, 2017, 6:05 am
#283
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,372