Air New Zealand starts adding back capacity
25-May-2010 Air New Zealand will be increasing its international and domestic capacity by 4.9% and 3.8% respectively for its upcoming Northern Winter 2010 schedule.
International capacity growth for the November 2010 - March 2011 period includes San Francisco up 17.9%, Vancouver up 7.9% and Los Angeles up 4%. Capacity on the Japan routes will increase by 6.7%, while UK and China services remain unchanged.
The long-haul capacity increases are primarily through increased frequency.
Norm Thompson, Air New Zealand Deputy CEO says the extra capacity is being added as the airline starts to see a recovery in air travel, albeit one that is still well below the highs of 2008.
"We are seeing a slow, but definite sign of a recovery from the reduction in travel in 2009, however these are still 13% below levels in 2008."
Demand improvement coupled with the arrival of new larger Airbus A320 aircraft and the reconfiguration of the existing A320 fleet, means capacity will also be increased across the short-haul international network.
"Some routes in particular are showing very positive signs, with Queenstown capacity up 88% over the same time a year ago," says Mr Thompson.
"Additional frequencies from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to Queenstown reflect the growth in the region as a summer destination for Australians," says Mr Thompson.
"Overall Tasman seat capacity is being increased by 10.2% on 2009 levels, although this is still down by 6.6% on the same period in 2008."
Domestic capacity will be up 3.8% across the network.