Air New Zealand adds domestic flights for Alert Level 2

Air New Zealand will operate to the majority of its domestic airports when the nation enters Alert Level 2.
8 May 2020

Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says the airline plans to operate around 20 percent of its usual domestic capacity (compared to pre-COVID-19 levels) during Level 2.  

"Level 2 will see the return of flying to the likes of Queenstown, Invercargill and Blenheim in the South Island and Rotorua, Gisborne, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Whangārei and Kerikeri in the north. This comes on top of current flights to support essential service travel between Auckland and Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga and Napier, as well as between Wellington-Christchurch, Wellington-Nelson and Christchurch-Dunedin," Mr Foran says.

"We've been keen to start domestic air services as soon as practicably possible to support New Zealand's economic recovery and connect family, friends and businesses. But the ramp up to higher frequencies will be a slow journey and even when we come out of Level 1, all of our domestic destinations will see fewer flights and reduced frequencies. This is the harsh reality of closed international borders and a depressed domestic economy, with more Kiwis in unemployment and people watching what they spend," he says.

Mr Foran says Air New Zealand will be working closely with Tourism New Zealand, regional tourism organisations, iwi partners and Government agencies like the Department of Conservation to encourage Kiwis to see more of the nation.

"We live in the best country on earth and on our doorstep have world class accommodation, attractions and activities. We'll be strongly encouraging Kiwis to support our tourism sector and to visit friends and family."

Mr Foran says that during Level 2 Air New Zealand will not be able to offer its normal cheapest lead in fares.

"One-metre social distancing means we can only sell just under 50 percent of seats on a turboprop aircraft and just 65 percent on an A320 On that basis, to ensure we cover our operating costs we won't be able to offer our lowest lead in fares until social distancing measures are removed."

The airline will operate the following domestic routes while the country is at Alert Level 2

 Auckland to/from

Christchurch

Christchurch to/from

Dunedin

Wellington to/from

Blenheim


 Auckland to/from

Gisborne

Christchurch to/from

Invercargill

Wellington to/from

Gisborne


 Auckland to/from

Kerikeri

Christchurch to/from

Nelson

Wellington to/from

Hamilton


 Auckland to/from

Napier

Christchurch to/from

Palmerston North

Wellington to/from

Napier


 Auckland to/from

Nelson

Christchurch to/from

Wellington

Wellington to/from

Nelson


 Auckland to/from

New Plymouth

Christchurch to/from

Queenstown

Wellington to/from

New Plymouth


 Auckland to/from

Palmerston North

Wellington to/from

Rotorua


 Auckland to/from

Tauranga

Wellington to/from

Tauranga


 Auckland to/from

Wellington

 Auckland to/from

Whangārei

 Auckland to/from

 Queenstown

Additional routes and frequencies will be reintroduced back into the schedule as demand permits and once it is clear exactly when the country will be moving to Alert Level 2.

Air New Zealand will restart services to Taupō, Hokitika and Timaru as demand allows.

The airline asks customers with existing bookings who don't intend to travel to please cancel their bookings and opt in to receive a credit via manage booking or their booking agent to free up seats to allow others to fly.

Before making a booking, customers are also reminded to check the latest information on the travel and transportation section of the Government COVID-19 website and the COVID-19 hub on the Air New Zealand website.

Ends

Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.

Email: media@airnz.co.nz  │  Phone: +64 21 747 320  │  Twitter: @AirNZMedia

About 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: 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 Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to more than 1,250 airports in 195 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

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