NZ2 distance and great-circle path
NZ2 covers 14,216 km, or 8,833 miles. That makes it an ultra-long-range flight, one of the longest commercial sectors flown anywhere. It is the 8th longest route we track.
The plane leaves Auckland heading north-east. On the map above, the line looks curved. That is normal. The shortest path over a round planet never looks straight on a flat screen. Our guide explains how the AKL-JFK route appears on a tracker map.
Why NZ2 block time differs from cruise time
The schedule allows 16.3 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 870 km/h. A Boeing 787-9 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.
Flying east, this route usually picks up tailwinds high up. The flight back west normally takes longer, even though the distance is identical. See how timing changes the trip in our red-eye flight guide.
Can the Boeing 787-9 comfortably fly NZ2?
Yes. The route uses roughly 101% of what a Boeing 787-9 can fly. On a windy day the airline may carry less cargo to save fuel. Flights this close to the limit are the ones that sometimes make a fuel stop. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Boeing 787-9.
What to know about NZ2
- Time change: you land 17 hours behind the time you left. That is enough to cause jet lag. Here is how pilots handle it.
- Crosses the equator: you swap seasons between takeoff and landing.
- Crosses the date line: the calendar date changes while you are in the air.