Direct weekday flights between Hamilton and Christchurch

Air New Zealand will introduce a Monday-to-Friday service between Hamilton and Christchurch next month.

The airline's senior vice-president for sales and distribution, Norm Thompson, says demand for a direct service between the two cities has been growing.

The service will be operated from October 13 by Air NZ's Link airline, Mount Cook Airlines, using a 66-seat ATR72-500 turbo-prop aircraft leaving Hamilton in the morning and returning in the evening.

Passenger numbers on Air NZ's domestic network have risen 23 per cent since the introduction of Express Class last November.