Air New Zealand will carry around 850,000 customers across its network during the upcoming school holiday period, with capacity to Sydney up 23 per cent compared with the same period last year.
Sydney, Queenstown and Rarotonga lead demand
Between 24 September and 11 October, more than 520,000 customers are expected to travel domestically and almost 330,000 internationally, with the busiest domestic day falling on Friday 25 September, when more than 33,000 customers are expected to travel. Air New Zealand has added seats on key routes, including 23 per cent more capacity between Auckland and Sydney, 10 per cent more between Auckland and Queenstown, and 12 per cent more between Auckland and Brisbane, compared with the same period last year.
Close to 150,000 customers are travelling to and from South Island destinations Queenstown, Nelson and Dunedin, while more than 170,000 are travelling to and from Australia, with Sydney the top destination ahead of Brisbane and Melbourne. Trans-Tasman demand continues beyond the school holidays with the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney on 17 October, for which Air New Zealand has added nearly 1,000 seats, including two additional return services between Auckland and Sydney.
More than 50,000 customers are travelling to Pacific destinations, led by Rarotonga, followed by Nadi and Apia, while Singapore tops the long-haul list ahead of Japan and Los Angeles.
Airline flags cabin baggage limits ahead of peak
Air New Zealand chief operations officer, ground and inflight, Kate Boyer said preparation for the period had been underway for weeks.
“Our goal is to sustain our recent strong on time performance even through this busy period – and that takes careful preparation and teamwork,” Boyer said. She encouraged Economy customers to check their carry-on bag falls within the 7kg allowance ahead of travel, given tighter overhead locker space expected on busy flights.
The airline is also reintroducing its Kia Ora Kids in-flight magazine and its free Plane Spotter’s Guide for younger aviation fans.
