Air New Zealand announced yesterday its Auckland-Dunedin route was among three southern connections that would receive a boost in capacity later this year.
Between June 28 and October 25, select services across the three routes would operate using the larger Airbus A321, adding more seats to the network at a time of strong seasonal demand, it said.
A total of 46 existing flights on the Auckland-Dunedin route would be upgauged from the Airbus A320 to the A321, adding a total of 2100 new seats.
This would support key student movement dates and special events, including the All Blacks’ game in Dunedin in July and the Big Sing finale in August.
The Auckland-Christchurch and Auckland-Queenstown routes comparatively would receive a combined total of 570 upgauged flights — or approximately 34,000 new seats.
Chief commercial officer Jeremy O’Brien said the airline was thrilled to be able to connect more customers over the winter season.
"Whether they’re heading back to university, to a special event, or to the slopes this winter, these seats will mean more choice and opportunity to fly and more flexibility to plan travel around the moments that matter," Mr O’Brien said.
"This isn’t just about adding flights, it’s about supporting our regions."
Business South chief executive Mike Collins said the changes were "definitely positive".
"We've been advocating to Air New Zealand on behalf of business for additional capacity, so any additional seating that is going to provide some more volume to the business community is something we've seen as favourable."
Aligning the boost in capacity with key events would be advantageous to businesses in the city as it would stimulate spending on accommodation and hospitality.
He was surprised Air New Zealand had made a change in the short term, but he believed it was a sign the airline was listening to and monitoring the demand for services in the region, Mr Collins said.
"There's a lot of investment going on in Dunedin at the moment and a lot of activity.
"So if that's flowing through to contractors coming into town and on flights and a lot more passenger travel between Dunedin and Auckland, that wouldn't surprise me, because there is quite a lot of activity going on in the city ... from an investment perspective."
