Air New Zealand is adding capacity to its domestic routes for the school holidays, with extra seats available to both Invercargill and Queenstown.

The airline’s 302-seat 787-9 Dreamliner will operate between Auckland and Christchurch between July 1 and 19, while trunk routes, including Queenstown and Dunedin will get extra flights or larger aircraft.

Air New Zealand General Manager Networks Scott Carr said the Dreamliner would operate 16 return passenger services between Auckland and Christchurch during this time, reflecting almost 10,000 additional seats on this route. 

“When it comes to our Auckland-Queenstown route, we’ll be offering even more capacity over the school holidays than we did during the same time last year through upgauging 140 return services from our A320 to our larger A321neo aircraft between 29 June and 26 July. This is great news for tourism and those wanting to hit the slopes.”

Extra services will also be added on regional routes, including Invercargill, in the week leading up to the school holidays. The airline says it is also working on additional flights for its regional ports for during the school holidays. 

Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker has welcomed the news as “just what the doctor ordered” for Queenstown.

 “With ski fields due to open at the end of June, Kiwis are clearly keen to hit the slopes and support our local economy which is still very much hurting following the COVID-19 lockdown,” he said.

“This is fantastic news for not only ski fields but other businesses and employees in Queenstown which are reliant on tourism.”