Air New Zealand will move to a daily return service on the popular Auckland – Vancouver route over the peak northern winter period between mid-December 2015 and late-January 2016.

This will be the first time the airline has operated daily return services on the route and represents a 21 percent increase in capacity over the previous six-week peak northern winter period.

In another first, customers are also now able to book the airline's revolutionary Economy Skycouch™ product as the route will be consistently operated by refurbished Boeing 777-200ER aircraft from 25 October 2015.

Air New Zealand Chief Sales and Commercial Officer Cam Wallace says there has always been high demand for the airline's North American services during the northern winter season.

“We are thrilled to be able to meet this demand with both extra capacity and a superior and consistent product.

“The refurbished Boeing 777-200ER aircraft all feature brand new interiors including an upgraded Premium Economy seat, as well as 20 rows of the revolutionary Economy Skycouch™ product within the Economy cabin.”

Overall almost 3000 seats each way will be added to the route during the northern winter period, representing a 10 percent increase in capacity compared with the previous year.

Ends

Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs ph +64 21 747 320

About Star Alliance:

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, 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. The integration of Avianca Brasil is currently in progress. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.

For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com