Carrie Hurihanganui: Auckland gears up for overseas arrivals

Carrie Hurihanganui chief executive of Auckland Airport. Photo / Supplied

OPINION:

Auckland International Airport expects air travel in and out of the country's main gateway will return to more than 80 per cent of the pre-Covid capacity by the middle of next year.

"It will be very welcomed and beneficial for the tourism sector but as the airlines come back we need to have the full suite of services and products in place," says Carrie Hurihanganui, chief executive of Auckland airport.

"There is a concern over the hospitality offering because of the availability of labour. We have to make sure tourist operators are open and visitors can dine out on Monday night. "We need to be on our game to be competitive and give the visitors the experience they expect," she says.

Before the Covid pandemic struck, 29 airlines from 43 destinations were arriving in Auckland. By the end of this year, the airport is expecting 23 airlines to be flying from 37 destinations.

It has set a target of 80-82 per cent of pre-Covid seating capacity by the end of its financial year on June 30. "The big thing is China which made up 10 per cent of the capacity pre-Covid. We haven't heard or seen anything from them," says Hurihanganui.

"Countries like China, Japan and Hong Kong still have Covid restrictions in place."

She says international passengers began increasing in July coinciding with the school holidays in Australia and New Zealand, and the next surge will be in October/November with more airlines arriving. American Airlines will be flying from Dallas, United Airlines from San Francisco, Air Canada from Vancouver, Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur via Sydney, and Air Qatar direct from Doha.

Emirates will return with its A380 aircraft, capacity 480 passengers, flying direct from Dubai daily. Emirates will also fly into Christchurch via Sydney from the end of March.

Air New Zealand is flying the new route to New York and re-engages with Chicago at the end of October. And its joint sharing agreement with Singapore Airlines will soon see 18 flights a week in and out of Auckland.

"The appeal for visiting New Zealand is still there and the shape of the (tourism) recovery will be interesting," says Hurihanganui.