Air New Zealand's #SandmanSelfie campaign brings Kiwi summer to North America

TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2015 /CNW/ -- Air New Zealand kicks off its #SandmanSelfie tour today, bringing a glimpse of the New Zealand summer to customers in Toronto, Chicago and Houston.

The #SandmanSelfie tour will take place from December 10^th–16^th, inviting consumers and media to enjoy elements of the Kiwi summer and take a selfie with the airline's six foot Sandman sand sculpture for a chance to win two roundtrip tickets to New Zealand at each tour stop.

Air New Zealand's #SandmanSelfie tour:

• Toronto: Thursday 10 December
  Guests can put their toes in "the sand" and take a surf lesson while warming up with hot cocoa or a New Zealand favorite – the flat white.  

• Chicago: Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December
  Visitors in the Windy City will be able to sample authentic New Zealand cuisine and experience Air New Zealand's award-winning Economy Skycouch.

• Houston: Wednesday 16 December
  For the final stop in Houston, Sandman will be joined by a choir singing "kiwi-carols".  Guests will also enjoy a traditional Maori kapa haka cultural performance.

Additional details around specific city locations will be shared across Air New Zealand's social channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans who stop by one of the three #SandmanSelfie locations are encouraged to take a selfie with Sandman and submit pictures on Instagram using #SandmanSelfie and #AirNZ for a chance to win two roundtrip tickets to New Zealand on Air New Zealand*.

For more information on the Air New Zealand #SandmanSelfie tour and sweepstakes, please visit airnz.ca/sandman.

The final stop on the tour in Houston falls one day after Air New Zealand's inaugural non-stop service from Auckland to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). 

Air New Zealand's new Houston service is operated by newly refitted Boeing 777-200 aircraft and offers enhanced connectivity to New Zealand for North American customers on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

With flights departing from Houston early in the evening and arriving into Auckland early in the morning, the convenient overnight service allows for same-day connections to the airline's 22 domestic New Zealand destinations as well as eight Australian destinations.

With the addition of Houston, Air New Zealand offers direct services to New Zealand from five North American gateways, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Honolulu.

*Special terms and conditions apply. Please visit airnz.com/sandman for official rules, terms and conditions.

For more information on Air New Zealand's award-winning products and routes, please visit www.airnewzealand.ca.

About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has been connecting travellers for 75 years, and operates, on average, 500 flights a day within a network of 51 cities in 17 countries including 22 destinations within New Zealand. North American services include non-stop flights to New Zealand from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston (commencing 15 December 2015), Honolulu and Vancouver B.C., and Los Angeles non-stop to the Cook Islands and London.

Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market  Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca in Brazil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,330 airports in 192 countries.

For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.ca and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com and/or follow Star Alliance on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, LinkedIn or Instagram

SOURCE Air New Zealand

Cherie Whyte, Air New Zealand, [phone], Kaitlin Novell, MWW Group, [phone], http://www.airnewzealand.ca