Increased demand prompts Air NZ to add capacity

Spurred on by recent increases in demand, Air New Zealand plans to increase its domestic jet route capacity.

General Manager Jeff McDowall announced the plans to add 180,000 more seats to the airline's domestic jet route capacity last week.

The steady increase in leisure and business customer demand over recent months has given the airline the confidence to commit to these additions, Mr McDowall said.

The additions will take the airline's main trunk routes, in particular its Boeing 737 services between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin, to a total of 750 per week, an increase of 4.2 per cent since September last year.

This is the third domestic jet capacity increase announced by the airline in recent months, following a 3.8 per cent capacity increase from November and a 10.5 per cent increase planned for January next year.
This latest increase will mean an addition of more than half a million seats to Air New Zealand's domestic network from early next year, Mr Dowall said.