Air New Zealand will introduce an extra return jet-service flight for Dunedin on Sundays from July, a move welcomed by the Otago Chamber of Commerce.
The return flight between Dunedin and Auckland will boost the total number of seats on the route by 5%. The airline has three jet-service flights between the cities daily on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at present.
Chamber chief executive Dougal McGowan welcomed the news when contacted by the Otago Daily Times.
From July 9, the new A320 service will leave Auckland for Dunedin at 9.15am, returning at 11.40am.
"This increases capacity between Dunedin and Auckland, New Zealand’s largest gateway. With 11 new airlines flying into Auckland, this gives tourists direct and fast access to us," Mr McGowan said.
From a business point of view, the extra flight gave people options about flying either internally or overseas, Mr McGowan said.
Extra Christchurch-Dunedin flights had been running at near full capacity since they were introduced, Mr McGowan said.
Air New Zealand chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said the airline had added 25% more seats between Auckland and Dunedin in the past six months and the latest announcement would increase options for weekend travellers.
"It’s fantastic to see demand for services to and from Dunedin continue to grow and we are confident we can sustain an enhanced schedule that benefits visitors and locals alike."
The increased jet operations had also created two new roles in the Air New Zealand engineering team, raising support for the ground crew and improving the reliability of the schedule, he said.
Dunedin Airport chief executive Richard Roberts said the extra jet flight, which followed the airline’s move to three A320 flights daily between Dunedin and Wellington last October. The increase was "excellent news" for the region.
