Air New Zealand is warning passengers to be prepared for a summer flying squeeze.
It says it will carry more than six million customers between December 1 and the end of March next year.
December and January are shaping up to be the busiest months, with the airline expecting to operate 30,000 flights over those two months.
The busiest single flying day will be Friday December 21 when Air New Zealand is expecting to operate more than 600 flights across its network.
The airline's general manager of customer experience Anita Hawthorne said operational teams were gearing up for summer.