Qantas also raised its service offering on the Australia-US route in September when it began flying A380 superjumbos between Sydney and Dallas, Texas. Dallas is a hub for Qantas's alliance partner, American Airlines.

The Qantas Sydney-Dallas route is currently the longest non-stop flight in the world, covering a distance of 13,800 kilometres and taking a little more than 15 hours.

Air New Zealand will begin flying refurbished Boeing 777-200 aircraft between Auckland and Houston up to five times a week in mid-December. The new route offers an alternative way for Australians to fly to the US, albeit via a stopover in Auckland.

The launch of the new route means Air New Zealand, the largest shareholder in Virgin Australia, will soon operate direct services to five destinations in North America. The national flag carrier already flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver and Hawaii.

Houston was one of three US cities that Air New Zealand had been weighing up over the last year as new destinations. The others were Chicago and Las Vegas.

Chief executive Christopher Luxon said the airline was "absolutely committed" to expanding its Pacific Rim network.

"Houston offers our customers direct access into the heart of the American south and a world of new tourism experiences," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Air New Zealand recently said it will launch flights between Auckland and Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December.

The airline is targeting capacity growth of 5 per cent to 6 per cent for its international network over the next five years.

It firmed up orders for an additional two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners late last year, which will take its fleet of the new generation planes to 12.

The airline is flying the new aircraft on routes to Asian destinations, while using its larger Boeing 777s for flights to North America.

Air New Zealand will codeshare on United Airlines flights from Houston to other destinations in the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. United is a fellow member of the Star Alliance airline group, and has a large hub in Houston.

The airline will begin selling tickets for flights to Houston next month.

While Air New Zealand has an alliance with Virgin on trans-Tasman flights, they do not cooperate on routes between Australasia and the US.

Virgin formed an alliance with US carrier Delta Air Lines on flights between Australia and Los Angeles in 2010. The airlines are seeking approval from the competition regulator to extend their alliance for five years.

While Air New Zealand has a monopoly on direct flights between Auckland and the US, it faces the prospect of airlines such as United launching services between California and New Zealand's largest city.

Qantas ditched flying between Auckland and Los Angeles in 2012.

Auckland Airport executive Norris Carter said the new Auckland-Houston service would help stimulate growth in American visitors.

The US is New Zealand's third-largest source of foreign visitors. Almost 227,000 Americans visited New Zealand in the year to February, a 10 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier.