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Australia is set to be Air New Zealand’s most popular international destination this summer holiday, with more than half a million passengers booked.
The NZ flag carrier expects 1.1 million international and 1.6 million domestic passengers over the end-of-year peak from 1 December to 31 January, including over 500,000 to Australia’s three major east coast cities alone.
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“Three Australian cities are firm favourites with 195,000 customers travelling to and from Sydney, 185,000 to and from Melbourne, and 120,000 to and from Brisbane,” Air New Zealand general manager airports, Kate Boyer, said.
“Around 170,000 customers will be crossing the Pacific with Tahiti and Fiji clear go-to getaways. Further afield, Los Angeles sees 56,000 passengers connecting to and from New Zealand these holidays.”
The two busiest days for international travel are tipped to be Saturday, 20 December and Saturday, 3 January, each with up to 20,000 passengers.
Domestically, the South Island is expected to be popular, with three major tourist centres also between them claiming more than 500,000 passengers.
“Queenstown will see 260,000 customers travel to and from the region while Nelson is gearing up for 150,000 customers, and Dunedin 110,000. Napier and the Bay of Plenty are also in hot demand this summer,” said Boyer.
“We’re proud to be part of the journeys that connect people over the holidays and our teams work incredibly hard to ensure every customer’s experience is smooth, enjoyable and a great example of Kiwi hospitality.”
Air New Zealand is planning to increase capacity by 12 per cent from Brisbane to Auckland, and 7 per cent to each of Christchurch and Wellington, from March to October 2026.
It comes as a seasonal service from Brisbane to Queenstown is set to run from June to October, and a new seasonal route also currently operating between Adelaide and Christchurch until March.
The airline says it has been seeing strong demand on both sides of the Tasman, which has prompted it to increase service frequency and use higher-gauge aircraft.
Air New Zealand in 2024–25 had posted a net profit after taxation of NZ$126 million (around $113 million), down on the previous year, off the back of NZ$189 million in pre-tax earnings.
