The Government is expected to announce on Monday when the country can safely move from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2.
In a statement this evening, Air New Zealand chief executive officer Greg Foran said the national carrier planned to operate about 20% of its usual domestic capacity (compared to pre-coronavirus levels) during Level 2 and it would fly to most of its domestic airports.
“Alert Level 2 will see the return of flying to the likes of Queenstown, Invercargill and Blenheim in the South Island and Rotorua, Gisborne, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Whangarei and Kerikeri in the north," Mr Forand said.
"This comes on top of current flights to support essential service travel between Auckland and Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga and Napier, as well as between Wellington-Christchurch, Wellington-Nelson and Christchurch-Dunedin."
Air NZ will operate the following domestic routes during Alert Level 2:
"But the ramp up to higher frequencies will be a slow journey and even when we come out of Alert Level 1, all of our domestic destinations will see fewer flights and reduced frequencies, he said.
"This is the harsh reality of closed international borders and a depressed domestic economy, with more Kiwis in unemployment and people watching what they spend."
Mr Foran said Air New Zealand would work with Tourism New Zealand, regional tourism organisations, iwi partners and government agencies including the Department of Conservation to encourage Kiwis to see more of the country.
However, during Alert Level 2 the airline would not be able to offer its normal cheapest fares, he said.
“One-metre social distancing means we can only sell just under 50 percent of seats on a turboprop aircraft and just 65 percent on an A320. On that basis, to ensure we cover our operating costs, we won’t be able to offer our lowest lead in fares until social distancing measures are removed.”
Additional routes and frequencies will be reintroduced as demand permits and once it is clear exactly when the country will be moving to Alert Level 2.
Air New Zealand will restart services to Taupo, Hokitika and Timaru as demand allows.
The airline has asked customers with existing bookings who don’t intend to travel to please cancel their bookings and opt in to receive a credit via manage booking on its website or their booking agent to free up seats to allow others to fly.
Before making a booking, customers were also reminded to check the latest information on the travel and transportation section of the Government's Covid-19 website and the Covid-19 hub on Air NZ's website.
