They only have limited 787s at the moment and they needed the 787 for the Chicago service so they deployed the 777 on the Houston route since then.
Regarding the prices, the flights are pretty much permanently full with business traffic. One flight was fully in Premium cabins but Economy was half empty, so Air NZ appear to be limiting availability in lower yielding fare classes in Business and PE.
Would definitely be due to the 787's being out of action at the moment due to Rolls Royce engine issues. Quite sad/impacting driving past AirNZ hangar in Auckland, as there's 3 787's just sitting on the ground with no engines
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Air NZ Auckland to Houston
Hewnix
Hewnix
Member since 11 Dec 2016
Total posts 2
My understanding was Air NZ were flying a 787 direct from Auckland to Houston.
Carrots
Carrots
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 06 Oct 2017
Total posts 39
Most likely related to aircraft availability due to the ongoing issues with the 787's being forced in to the hanger for the Rolls engine issues.
mspcooper
mspcooper
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 09 May 2013
Total posts 442
Their prices for Houston and Chicago are sky high
StuParr
StuParr
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
Member since 01 Mar 2012
Total posts 203
Pabs
Pabs
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member since 22 May 2017
Total posts 21
Would definitely be due to the 787's being out of action at the moment due to Rolls Royce engine issues. Quite sad/impacting driving past AirNZ hangar in Auckland, as there's 3 787's just sitting on the ground with no engines