Among the new initiatives to improve its financial standing, Air New Zealand will be launching new non-stop flights between Auckland and Seoul-Incheon starting November 23.

The new service will start off as a thrice-weekly service, and will be upgraded to a five-times weekly service starting December to mid-February. Air New Zealand will be using Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the route.

From Auckland, the flights to Seoul will take around 11 hours each way to complete the 5974 mile (9615 kilometers). It will compete with Korean Air’s six-times weekly flights between the two cities.

The new route looks to tap into the tourist market of Koreans visiting New Zealand, as well as to encourage more New Zealanders to visit South Korea. Air New Zealand’s Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace highlighted these points saying in reports: "Seoul is a densely populated city with more than 10 million residents. Inbound leisure travel from South Korea to New Zealand has grown significantly in recent years presenting an important tourism growth opportunity for the airline and for the New Zealand tourism economy.”

Wallace added: “We also want to encourage more Kiwi travellers to explore Seoul and South Korea. We're thrilled to be offering customers easy direct access to another vibrant Asian destination to add to their bucket list. The new service will also help connect the estimated 40,000 Koreans already living in New Zealand more conveniently with friends and family in their home country."

Seoul will be Air New Zealand’s sixth destination in Asia, which includes Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo.

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