Air New Zealand is changing the capacity on three of its domestic routes in response to “a tough economic backdrop”.
On Monday, the airline announced it would cut its direct service between Wellington and Invercargill from January 19.
In a statement to 1News today, Air New Zealand’s domestic general manager Scott Carr said the company had seen domestic travel demand “soften” in recent months.
“This is most evident on some of our regional network. Concurrently, we also have aircraft out of service due to global engine maintenance issues. As a result, we’ve made some adjustments to our schedule.”
He said Air New Zealand must ensure its operations were “financially sustainable”, prompting changes to four domestic routes.
Queenstown – Christchurch
The first flight of the morning from Queenstown to Christchurch was being moved to an ATR, rather than a jet, which would reduce capacity on the flight.
It would also depart later, just before 9am. The last service from Christchurch to Queenstown would be mid-afternoon. This was due to lower demand and daylight operating limits for turboprops.
Carr said there would be an increase of two extra flights from Queesntown to Auckland offered per week.
Dunedin – Wellington
The flight would now operate on an ATR instead of a jet in the morning and evening.
Dunedin passengers travelling to Wellington for the day would be able to arrive in Wellington at 8.30am. The return non-stop flight would be at 4.30pm with a connection via Christchurch just after 6pm.
Christchurch – New Plymouth
This route would be reduced by three flights per week.
The late evening flight from Christchurch to New Plymouth, and the early flight from New Plymouth to Christchurch, would be replaced with “more leisure flights in the middle of the day”, which the airline said was more popular with passengers.
These flights would take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Blenheim – Wellington
A change was also being made to the Blenheim to Wellington route, in which the overall capacity would remain the same, but the first flight of the day would be slightly later.
Carr said the airline was “re-accommodating those who were already booked to travel”.
“We know this change may cause inconvenience for some, but we want to assure our customers that we remain committed to connecting New Zealanders to each other and the world and we apologise for any inconveniences these changes may cause,” he said.