Air NZ, Virgin boost trans-Tasman services to Queenstown

Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have promised fewer schedule disruptions on trans-Tasman services to Queenstown thanks to new aircraft technology, as they confirmed they will boost services to the city.

This year, the carriers will add 36,000 seats between Queenstown and Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne between November and March by adding up to seven extra trans-Tasman services per week – an increase of almost 50% on the same period last year.

They confirmed that all aircraft flying from Australia to the popular South Island holiday spot are now equipped with Required Navigation Performance technology which allows them to take off and land in low visibility conditions – formerly the cause of many schedule disruptions.

Capacity on trans-Tasman routes into and out of Christchurch will also be bolstered with an additional 43,000 seats across seven additional services – representing a 13% increase in capacity.

The airlines will now operate morning and evening Christchurch to Sydney services seven days a week.

“It’s fantastic to see demand on Christchurch services on the rise and we hope to further stimulate this growth by working closely with our alliance partner Virgin Australia,” chief sales and chief operating officer Cam Wallace said.

“We believe this additional capacity to two of our key South Island ports will appeal to both leisure and business travellers with convenient onward connections to our domestic network.”