6 REASONS TO FLY AMERICAN AIRLINES

The iconic American Airlines has recently announced its first ever flight to New Zealand, flying between Los Angeles and Auckland from June 2016. The route has long been the sole domain of Air New Zealand, so hopefully the entrance of American Airlines will mean cheaper flights and more spending money for us Kiwi's heading Stateside. And as if that's not enough, there are more reasons why you should consider American Airlines for your next trip…

1. SHINEY NEW PLANES
American Airlines will be flying their brand spanking new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the route. While the aircraft boasts such achievements as being 20% more fuel efficient and being built of 50% plastic, it’s in the passenger experience where it really comes up trumps. Japanese airline ANA who have 45 of the planes surveyed passengers on a Tokyo to Frankfurt flight and found that expectations were surpassed for 90% of passengers! Features that exceeded expectations included...
- Air quality and cabin pressure (90% of passengers)
- Cabin ambiance (92%)
- Higher cabin humidity levels (80%)
- Headroom (40%)
- Larger than usual windows (90%)
All that basically means you should arrive in Los Angeles feeling more refreshed and ready to go! And just to emphasis that point even more, a further 25% of those passengers even went as far as saying they would go out of their way to fly on the 787 again.

2. NO OVERNIGHTING IN L.A.
American’s scheduling makes for an early arrival into Los Angeles, meaning you can connect on to another flight without having to overnight at the airport. Similarly, when travelling back to Auckland you’ll arrive in early enough to connect on throughout New Zealand or even to Aussie on their partner airline, Qantas.
- Flights depart Auckland at 1.20pm and arrive 6.30am on the same day.
- From Los Angeles, flights depart at 10.45pm and arrive Auckland at 6.35am two days later.

3. IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE U.S.
American Airlines have a major hub at Los Angeles International Airport and they fly over 200 flights a day, to 60 different destinations from L.A. alone! With American Airlines you can now reach new destinations such as rock ‘n’ rollin’ Memphis, the super cool Texan capital city of Austin, and the museums and monuments of Washington DC. Never have these destinations been easier to get to before.

4. EXPLORE CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
But why stop with just the U.S? With American’s network you could be lying on the beaches of Cabo or Mazatlan, exploring the gold laden cathedrals of Mexico City, climbing pyramids in Belize, or finding your Rastafarian roots in Jamaica’s Montego Bay.

5. UPGRADES AND FREE FLIGHTS
Great news, American Airlines is a partner airline with Qantas so if you’re a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, you’ll earn points on your American Airlines flight too. Use your points for upgrades, to book other flights, and buy all sorts of extra goodies.

6. SUPPORT THE UNDERDOGS
Calling American Airlines an underdog might seem a bit silly, they are the biggest airline in the world after all! But they’re new to New Zealand and bringing much needed competition to the market, so let’s get in behind them to make sure they stay.

story by: Tom Ricketts