More than 200 passengers on an Air New Zealand flight that departed San Francisco on December 24 completely skipped Christmas Day after timezone rules meant that the plane touched down on December 26 in Auckland.
What seems like the perfect flight for the fictional Dicken character Ebenezer Scrooge himself, Air New Zealand flight NZ7 departed San Francisco at just after 8 pm on Christmas Eve for the 12-hour transpacific flight to Aotearoa.
As the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flew through multiple timezones and across the international date line, the passengers landed in New Zealand at around 5 am on December 26 – they had skipped Christmas Day altogether.
Worried about the prospect that passengers would lose out on even the “tiniest twinkle of Christmas Day magic,” Air New Zealand decided to put on a special show, creating a Christmas atmosphere onboard, even if December 25 no longer existed for everyone onboard.
“The holidays are a time to come together with loved ones, and we know missing Christmas Day can clip the wings of that festive feeling,” commented Air New Zealand’s Grace Blewitt.
“So, we decided to sleigh expectations and create a sky-high celebration like no other, sprinkling some magic on this journey,” Blewitt continued.
Passengers were treated to a unique light show, projected on the walls and overhead bins of the cabin, which took passengers on an enchanting journey from the snowy Northern Hemisphere to the sunny summer beach Christmas in Aotearoa.
There was also no escaping the traditional Christmas Day lunch, with passengers served a holiday menu that included a traditional turkey Christmas roast, sweet potato mash, and a chocolate yule log for dessert.
The passengers even got to open presents on Christmas Day, with Air New Zealand gifting everyone onboard custom-designed Christmas tree decoration and an airplane-shaped Christmas cookie.
