Air New Zealand plans to temporarily suspend flights between Auckland and Chicago amid ongoing challenges with the availability of serviceable Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
The 8187-mi. (7,114-nm) route between Auckland International Airport (AKL) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) will be halted from March 31 through Oct. 25. The carrier serves the sector three times per week using Boeing 787-9 aircraft at present.
According to data from OAG Schedules Analyser, Air New Zealand is the sole operator of nonstop flights between the cities. The airline inaugurated service on this route in November 2018, which continued until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Flights resumed in October 2022.
“Unfortunately, Air New Zealand continues to be impacted by challenges with availability of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, meaning we will now have up to three aircraft unavailable for an extended period, so we’ve had to review our schedule,” says Leanne Geraghty, chief customer and sales officer.
“We made the tough decision to temporarily pause the Chicago route while maintaining our schedule of up to 35 flights each week to six ports across the U.S. and Canada, so there are still plenty of options to get to Chicago, the U.S. and beyond,” she adds.
The Trent 1000 engines typically require extensive maintenance checks every 1,000 engine cycles (takeoffs and landings), involving removal and offsite inspection. However, Air New Zealand says recent inspections by its engineers have revealed a need for maintenance after only 750-850 cycles.
“Rolls-Royce has been unable to provide Air New Zealand with spare or replacement engines to deliver the level of service needed, leading to a reduction in the amount of flying Air New Zealand can deliver via its 787 fleet,” the carrier says.
Alongside Chicago, the airline’s North American network includes Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as Vancouver in Canada. Chicago, Honolulu, JFK and Vancouver are currently served using its fleet of 14 787-9s.
Air New Zealand has also been impacted by issues surrounding the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, which are used to power its Airbus A320neo-family aircraft. The airline has 17 powered by the geared turbofan engines in its fleet, which are used on domestic and short-haul international routes.
In November 2023, the airline said it expects to have “up to four aircraft grounded at any one time” due to the maintenance requirement. Two routes will therefore be paused beginning in early April: from Auckland to Seoul, and Auckland to Australian city Hobart.
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