Getting to New Zealand

New Zealand is located in the South Pacific. There are daily flights from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand's major international gateway. Major airlines flying from Los Angeles to New Zealand are Air New Zealand, United Airlines and Qantas Airways. American Airlines code shares with Qantas.

Flights are either non-stop or via Honolulu and may include a South Pacific stopover en route at Fiji or the Cook Islands (Air New Zealand only).

Non stop flying time is approximately 13 hours. Most flights depart Los Angeles in the evening, arriving Auckland in the early morning local time. On the return journey, most flights depart Auckland in the evening, arriving in Los Angeles in the morning.

En route, you cross over the International Date Line. When flying from North America to New Zealand, you 'lose' a day. As an example, if you depart Los Angeles on a Tuesday evening, you arrive in Auckland on Thursday morning. On the return journey, you 'gain' a day - if you leave Auckland on a Tuesday evening, you arrive in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning - the same day!

Flights are also available from Vancouver flying Air Canada. These flights are via Honolulu.

Don't forget to read up on what you need to know before you go.