Half a million Kiwis taking flight with Air New Zealand this school holidays

28 June 2023
  • More than 580,000 seats across 6,500 flights on Air New Zealand's domestic network
  • Added more than 45,000 seats compared with last year's July school holidays
  • Internationally, more than 1,300 flights are scheduled. Sydney is the most popular destination.

Air New Zealand is gearing up for a busy July school holiday period, with the airline operating more than 580,000 seats across its domestic network as Kiwis prepare to take to the skies.

Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says the airline is well prepared to connect New Zealanders with each other and the world this school holidays.

"We've seen huge demand for travel across Aotearoa New Zealand over the school holiday period. To cater to this, we have added an extra 45,000 seats across nearly 500 flights to our domestic network, compared with the same school holiday period last year. On average, that's an additional 3,000 seats per day."

Queenstown is the most popular destination on the New Zealand network, with nearly 70,000 seats in and out of the wintery favourite from Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.

"Our teams are working hard to prepare for the holiday demand, including increasing staff numbers where needed and enabling more customers to self-serve during their travel experience. Our goal is to provide customers with the smoothest travel experience possible."  

Demand for travel across the two motu is also up this year, with customers keen to hop between the North and South Islands. Air New Zealand has increased seats available on flights between Christchurch and Rotorua by 55 percent, Christchurch and Tauranga by 40 percent, and Auckland and Blenheim by 26 percent compared with the 2022 school holidays.

Internationally, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are the most popular destinations for travellers with Air New Zealand, followed by Singapore and Nadi rounding out the top five.

"There are more than 230,000 customers booked to travel internationally with Air New Zealand during the July school holidays and our teams are looking forward to connecting Kiwis with the world and welcoming visitors from around the world to Aotearoa.

"We still have seats available across our domestic and international networks, so anyone keen to embrace spontaneity and book a last-minute getaway should get in quick before seats sell out."

 

Top tips for smooth sailing when flying this school holidays

  • Double check the personal details on your booking are correct to avoid any airport hold-ups
  • Download the Air NZ mobile app and subscribe to its Travel Alert service to keep up to date on the go
  • Allow plenty of time to get to the airport and through security as it can take a little longer than usual – especially with extra winter gear
  • As always, book travel insurance to ensure you're protected in the event of a weather-related disruption (which can be more frequent in the winter months!)

 

Ends

Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.

Email: media@airnz.co.nz │Twitter: @AirNZMedia

About Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has 104 operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 7.3 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. Pre-Covid, the airline flew more than 17 million passengers every year, with 3,400 flights per week. Air New Zealand was recently named the World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety. Last year, Air New Zealand won Best Corporate Reputation in New Zealand – 8th year in a row.

Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the US, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework  helps guide the airline's efforts in tackling some of New Zealand's and the world's most complex challenges. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.

 

About Star Alliance

Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of 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 recognized 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 Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.