Capacity between New Plymouth and Christchurch will more than double from this week, with 14 additional Bombardier Q300 services per week, increasing total capacity on this route to more than 67,000 seats annually.

The airline has also increased capacity by a third between Tauranga and Christchurch, with flight frequency up from 18 to 24 direct Q300 services per week.

Further seats have also been introduced between Hamilton and Christchurch with eight additional Q300 services operating weekly between the two ports, resulting in an 18 percent capacity increase.

Air New Zealand Group General Manager New Zealand and Pacific Islands Cam Wallace says the introduction of new ATR-600 aircraft to the regional fleet is allowing the airline to redeploy existing capacity onto high demand routes.

“A number of customers travelling from New Plymouth, Hamilton and Tauranga to Christchurch have previously had to travel via Wellington. They will now have far greater travel convenience.

“We’re constantly reviewing and adapting our domestic network in order to meet regional passenger demand and we’re pleased to be facilitating the ongoing rebuild within the Canterbury region in this instance,” says Mr. Wallace.

The additional weekday services between New Plymouth and Christchurch will operate in the morning catering for the early morning business traffic while services will also be added to both weekend days.

Additional services from Tauranga to Christchurch will operate Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday afternoons.

Between Hamilton and Christchurch the additional weekly services will operate in the afternoon on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and a further return service will be added on Sunday mornings.

These changes follow the recent announcement of new direct services from both Kapiti Coast and Perth to Christchurch which will launch on 4 November and 4 December respectively.

The Night Rider service, offering NZ$39 fares for every seat between Auckland and Christchurch on the last flight of the day, takes flight on 7 November.

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 recognised 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 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, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries.

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