Air NZ enjoys a monopoly on the Pacific, but potential competitors are circling

Air New Zealand has enjoyed a monopoly on the New Zealand to North American route since Qantas pulled out of the Auckland-Los Angeles route in May-2012 (which originated in Sydney). Since then Air NZ has increased capacity, in part to fill the void left by Qantas, but also in response to the strong growth in United States visitors to New Zealand and the recovering US economy.

A growing market with a single player would normally be expected to quickly attract a competitor, and to the extent that Hawaiian Airlines began flying between Honolulu and Auckland in Mar-2013, that has happened. Part of Hawaiian Airlines' proposition is that Honolulu can serve as an alternative and less stressful transit point to its US destinations beyond the more congested west coast gateways of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

There is speculation that Qantas' oneworld partner American Airlines is considering establishing a direct Los Angeles-Auckland service within the next two years. American is reconfiguring its 777-200ER fleet with higher density two class capacity which could be suitable for a route that is dominated by leisure travellers.