Six flights a week to San Francisco

Air New Zealand, in the midst of a complete overhaul of its long-distance services, is doubling its flights to San Francisco.

The route has been a big success for the airline since it first flew there last June and will be one of the first to use its new Boeing 777-200 planes, which start arriving this year.

Now flying there three times a week, Air NZ will move to six times a week in November, with the eventual aim of daily flights.

While flights to Europe still go through Los Angeles, the airline is hoping to bring more North American tourists to New Zealand through the smaller but less-congested airport at San Francisco.

Flights to San Francisco now involve the larger Boeing 747-400. The airline says moving to six flights a week will increase the number of seats on the route by 62 per cent.

Air NZ is about to embark on a complete refit and "rebranding" of its long-haul services, with the new Boeing 777s all arriving with the new-look cabins.

There will be no first-class cabin in the planes, which will instead have 26 "Business Premier" lie-flat seats. Another 18 seats will be in the "Pacific Premium Economy" class, which will be a step between economy and business. "Pacific Economy" will have 269 seats.

All seats will have individual entertainment systems. The airline's 747-400 jumbo jets are being overhauled, with the new interiors and seats. The first plane to go through its $20 million refit will be put in the hangar next month.

Because passengers cannot always be guaranteed which particular aircraft they will be flying on, Air NZ will roll out the new long-haul service on particular destinations, with San Francisco the first.