As Christchurch continues to rebuild after the tragic earthquake of February 2011, demand for business travel to the city is seeing increases in domestic services. Air New Zealand this week added significant capacity between Christchurch and several regional ports.
Flights between New Plymouth and Christchurch will more than double, with 14 additional Bombardier Q300 services a week, increasing total capacity on this route to more than 67,000 seats annually.
The airline has also increased capacity by a third between Tauranga and Christchurch, with flight frequency up from 18 to 24 direct Q300 services a week.
More seats have also been introduced between Hamilton and Christchurch with eight additional Q300 services operating weekly between the two ports, resulting in an 18 percent capacity increase.
The capacity increases have been made possible with the addition of new ATR-600s to Air New Zealand’s regional fleet, allowing the airline to redeploy existing capacity onto other routes. The direct flights mean travellers from North Island regional centres will no longer have to fly via Wellington to Christchurch.
Air New Zealand group general manager Cam Wallace said he was pleased to be facilitating the ongoing rebuild within the Canterbury region.
