Air New Zealand increases flights into Wanaka

Air New Zealand increases flights into Wanaka

Air New Zealand today announced that it will be increasing the number of flights into and out of Wanaka.

The additional services which are on sale from today, will be operated by Air New Zealand’s Eagle Air, and are in response to feedback on the demand for flights at times that suit the increasing numbers of both business and leisure travellers.

Under the current schedule one flight is operated each way Monday to Saturday and two flights on a Sunday.

But the new services, which will be trialled for 3-6 months, will increase the number of flights by 40%. Now offering two flights each way on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and one flight each way on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

“The solid patronage of the direct service between Christchurch and Wanaka clearly showed us that one non-stop flight per day needed to be reviewed to serve the needs of both business and leisure travellers,” says General Manager Eagle Air Carrie Hurihanganui.

The additional flights reinforce Air New Zealand’s commitment to the Wanaka region, helping to grow the region’s business and tourism links.

“We have been working closely with local stakeholders since March, including Wanaka Chamber of Commerce, Lake Wanaka Tourism and Queenstown Lakes District Council, who are confident that there will be strong demand for the additional services,” says Ms Hurihanganui.

“The trial will give us the opportunity to gauge the level of local support we receive for the retimed and additional flights.”

The retimed early morning flights offer improved timings for business travellers. While the new Friday and Sunday afternoon flights provide great options for weekend visitors.

“The additional services will also provide improved connections to flights across the rest of the Air New Zealand network both domestically and internationally,” says Ms Hurihanganui.

One of the increasingly popular booking options on the Air New Zealand website is the facility which enables customers to book “multi-stop” journeys.

“This provides greater flexibility for our customer who wish to book flights into Wanaka and out of Queenstown, or vice versa,” says Ms Hurihanganui.

The new flight schedule (below) goes on sale today and is available for travel from Monday 30 August.

The flights will be operated by the same 19-seater Beech 1900D aircraft as used on the current service.

Smart Saver fares between Christchurch and Wanaka start from $90 one way.

ENDS

© Scoop Media