Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia will add more than 30,000 extra seats between Australia and Queenstown over the peak winter period through their trans-Tasman alliance.
From July to September, the airlines will operate at least five additional return A320 services per week from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to popular ski destination Queenstown.
The increases means the alliance will operate up to 30 direct trans-Tasman services to Queenstown per week during winter.
Air New Zealand deputy chief executive Norm Thompson said the number marks a considerable increase on the nine weekly services operated during the ski season just five years ago,
“Year on year growth has placed Queenstown as New Zealand's fastest-growing destination for Australian visitors," he said. "This is due in no small part to our significant increase in capacity over time."
The increased trans-Tasman capacity follows the launch last week of seasonal direct alliance services between Christchurch and the West Australian capital of Perth which will commence in December this year.
