Air New Zealand announced it would be ramping up its services between Australia and the land of the Long White Cloud from 19 April.
The move comes after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced a quarantine free Trans Tasman bubble between the two nations, which will help boost tourism for both countries.
There will be 24,000 additional seats between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown and eight Australian ports.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says the airline is incredibly excited to have the border reopen to our Aussie neighbours.
“This is terrific news. I know Kiwis and Australians have been wanting to reconnect with whānau and friends for a year now and we’re incredibly excited to be playing a part in those reunions.
“I’ll certainly be digging out my passport for the first time since I joined the airline to head across the ditch to see my family and I’m especially looking forward to meeting some of my grandchildren for the first time.”
The Air New Zealand team even sent Qantas’ CEO Alan Joyce a little gift and note saying they were looking forward to seeing the flying kangaroo in the sky over Aotearoa again.
The airline has been preparing for a trans-Tasman bubble for a few months now, bringing furloughed crew back onboard and ensuring they are up to speed with training, along with making sure its international airports and lounges are ready for the influx of customers.
“Our people have shown incredible agility of the past 12 months as things have changed at an unbelievable pace. I’ve spoken to several our front-line staff who are thrilled to show our customers the world-class Air New Zealand customer service once again.
“We’d like to say a huge thanks to New Zealanders for standing by us while we’ve mainly been a domestic business for the past year. I’m extremely proud to say that we’ve got one of the most robust domestic businesses of any airline around the world. We look forward to being able to extend that across the Tasman.
“Pre-COVID-19, Australia was the largest tourism market for both our airline and New Zealand. We know a lot of tourism operators have been feeling the lack of international visitors so we’re looking forward to playing a role in New Zealand’s recovery.
“Using the strength of our domestic network we’ll be able to connect Australians with more destinations around the country. With the rest of the world still out of reach, New Zealand offers landscapes and experiences that are up there with the world’s best attractions.”
Air New Zealand trans-Tasman flights are on sale now. The schedule is as follows:
