Air New Zealand today announced that tickets are now on sale for its nonstop service from Houston, Texas to Auckland, New Zealand. The airline will operate its inaugural Houston-Auckland flight on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. To celebrate the launch, the airline is offering a limited-time introductory fare to New Zealand starting from $1,298* USD round trip (restrictions and other baggage fees may apply).

Air New Zealand will operate up to five return services per week, Tuesday through Friday, and on Sunday, using its Boeing 777-200 aircraft featuring a brand new interior, including the airline’s award-winning Economy Skycouch™, comfortable ink-colored luxury leather Premium Economy seats with leg rests, and lie-flat beds in Business Premier.

The new Houston gateway will be the airline’s fifth in North America (also Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Honolulu) and fourth in the United States, increasing service to Auckland over peak season up to 34 times per week from the U.S. Houston will serve as the fastest way to access New Zealand from East Coast and Midwest points of origin.

Air New Zealand’s Star Alliance partner United Airlines will code share into Houston from numerous North American cities. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) provides nonstop service to almost 200 airports around the globe, including 113 domestic U.S. destinations.

Air New Zealand Vice President of the Americas Chris Myers says the airline is thrilled to bring service closer to many North American customers than ever before with the New Zealand experience beginning the moment they step on board.

“We are very excited to open service to the global gateway city of Houston in December and we look forward to welcoming more visitors from the U.S. to New Zealand. Our priority has always been to make the customer journey as comfortable and easy as possible, and the service from Houston means a gateway to New Zealand is much closer to the East Coast, Midwest and Southern states.”

The new service from Houston coincides with a recent announcement of expanded connectivity between Auckland and Western Australia. Passengers arriving from Houston (and additional North American gateways) into Auckland can connect to Perth, Australia with more optimal layover time, reaching their final destinations quickly, comfortably and seamlessly.

Air New Zealand’s special introductory fares to Auckland are available now through until June 9, 2015. See www.airnewzealand.com for more details.