Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai Air New Zealand has seen a surging demand from India post Covid.
Imogen Thornton, Head of South & Southeast Asia, Air New Zealand, said, “There is growing interest in New Zealand from India travellers. From the 87,000 Indians that visited New Zealand over the last year, ending April 2024, there were 42,000 VFR visitors and 23,000 leisure travellers, with leisure volumes growing at a steady rate.”
Currently, Air New Zealand offers connections for Indian passengers via Singapore. “We have an alliance partnership with Singapore Airlines that operates out of 8 cities in India. On a daily basis, we operate up to 4 flights per day from Singapore to Auckland; and a daily flight from Singapore to Christchurch. Once in New Zealand, travellers can connect onto 20 destinations across the country.”
In terms of bookings, Thornton said, “Trade partners are critical for our success, and we see over 70℅ bookings driven through them.”
As far as seat preference is concerned, she said that the Economy cabin is popular, but there is also growing interest in Premium Economy, especially since rates are competitive, and benefits many travellers, including students, with its extra baggage allowance.
For the upcoming November to March season, Air New Zealand will be offering 20,000 more seats from Singapore to Auckland, with 11,000 of those being in Business Premier and Premium Economy.
With regards to fleet expansion, new Boeing 787 aircraft will join the Air New Zealand fleet in 2025, and the process of retrofitting the existing fleet will begin with upgrades to the interior product this yea
