'Ready for this': Air New Zealand has been restoring planes and international crew to service in preparation for the restart.
'Ready for this': Air New Zealand has been restoring planes and international crew to service in preparation for the restart.
Air New Zealand is boosting its international network this summer with up to 25 per cent more capacity than last year, in a move that should help lower airfares.
The airline will this week announce a bumper full-year profit - a near-billion-dollar turnaround on heavy losses last year. But itnow faces increased competition on international flights throughout its network and is expanding to take it on.
At present, capacity is running at about 94 per cent of pre-Covid levels on its domestic network and 71 per cent on its international operations.
Air New Zealand is now putting more tickets on sale for flights from October, expanding international services from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch during the northern winter, when schedules around the world change. It will fly more than 75 flights a day across 36 global routes, with 560,000 extra seats on offer compared with the previous year.
The airline has been able to push up prices as demand during the past 18 months has been running hot, at a time when there is still less capacity serving New Zealand by other airlines.
Figures from Flight Centre company FCM today show around the world international fares are up 18 per cent in business and economy cabins this year compared to 2019, before the pandemic. Increases are steeper in New Zealand and Australia - up 27 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said half a million more seats will help lower fares which have soared as travel has boomed.
“More seats means more people can fly, and it’s also a significant step towards bringing fare prices down,” she said.
“We’ve gone through our operations with a fine-tooth comb, adding larger planes and extra services to key routes to offer customers an array of expanded travel options during the season.”
The expanded schedule will need more aircraft, and the airline is expected announce details of fleet changes at its results announcement on Thursday. It has previously signalled it will lease an extra Boeing 777 aircraft to boost capacity. It is now close to pre-pandemic staff levels, with 11,500 staff members.
Yesterday, Qantas announced a big expansion of its international operations throughout summer and into later next year, when it will increase frequency on its Auckland-New York route to daily. It, too, said more flights will help bring down fares.
Air New Zealand is expanding capacity to the Pacific Islands.
Air New Zealand is adding nearly 14 per cent more seats into the Pacific Islands. Larger aircraft and extra flights will add 36 per cent more seats on Auckland-Nadi (where it is facing increased competition from Fiji Airways) and Auckland-Rarotonga will increase 7 per cent.
Auckland-Niue will have 50 per cent more seats, with an extra flight a week until February.
Across the Tasman, 25 per cent more (25,000) seats on Christchurch-Brisbane and Wellington-Brisbane routes will strengthen regional connections. Wellington-Melbourne will increase 38 per cent and Wellington-Sydney will go up 7 per cent. More seats will be added from Auckland to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Hobart.
As previously announced, Air New Zealand aircraft and crew will be returning to its Auckland-Perth route on October 29 after using Spanish charter airline Wamos Air for the past year. Air New Zealand will continue operating daily services to Perth, with more than 2000 seats a week available, but from later this month will face competition from Malaysia’s Batik Air, which will fly a 737-8 aircraft between Auckland and Perth six times a week.
Air New Zealand estimates it will operate 200,000 extra seats to Asia and North America.
Seats to and from Shanghai will increase almost 150 per cent, with the Auckland-Hong Kong route to grow over 50 per cent. Auckland-Tokyo will also increase by nearly 70 per cent.
The airline is facing much-increased competition between this country and the United States during summer, with giant airline Delta starting services for the first time (daily flights between Los Angeles and Auckland) and American Airlines back on that route, as well as running flights to Auckland from Dallas Fort-Worth.
Air NZ alliance partner United is starting San Francisco-Christchurch services this summer. Air New Zealand says its Auckland-San Francisco capacity will be 91 per cent, Auckland-Houston will be up 83 per cent and Auckland-Vancouver up 12 per cent. The schedule will be welcomed by New Zealand’s tourism sector over summer, paving the way for growth. International tourist numbers are running at about 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
