Air New Zealand doubles flights to Shanghai

Sydney, Australia - May 5, 2014: Air New Zealand Airbus A320 taking off from Sydney Airport.

Air New Zealand has announced an expansion of its flight offerings to Shanghai, China from New Zealand.

The airline increased its services to fly three times a week in early January and is moving to four passenger services a week from 4 February. This is double what Air New Zealand was flying at the end of last year.

Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty says the extra flight takes the weekly capacity to 1,200 seats.

“Ramping up with an additional flight per week provides our customers with even more options for travel to this vibrant city,” Geraghty said.

Following the announcement of China reopening after nearly three years of restrictions, the airline has seen many people booking Shanghai flights to be with friends and family this Chinese New Year.

“This will be the first Lunar New Year that Chinese living in Aotearoa can be reunited with their families for this special holiday,” Geraghty said.

“We’re seeing very strong demand across January for our flights into China. Most flights are full or close to full.”

New Zealand has long been a popular destination for Chinese travellers. Around 390,000 travellers from China visited New Zealand in 2019, according to Tourism New Zealand. China was New Zealand’s second largest market by arrivals before COVID, comprising 11 per cent of total arrivals. Chinese visitors spent $1.7 billion in 2019 – of which, $333 million was spent in the regions.

“With the addition of these new flights, we hope to make it even easier for New Zealanders to experience all that Shanghai has to offer and tap into the pent-up demand of Chinese tourists into New Zealand,” Geraghty said.

All flights between Shanghai and Auckland will be operated on Boeing 787 and customers can book their flights now by booking online or via their travel partner.

In addition to families and friends, Air New Zealand’s cherry cargo is also making Lunar New Year celebrations a little sweeter with two cargo-only flights a week.

“Premium Central Otago cherries from New Zealand are a highly sought-after luxury gift across Asia during Chinese New Year. We’re flying around 500 tonnes of cherries to Shanghai and Taipei ahead of the Lunar New Year,” Geraghty said.

“New Zealand seafood is also in high demand. We’re transporting around 350 tonnes of fresh New Zealand seafood to Shanghai in time for the festivities.”

The two cargo-only flights are in addition to the four passenger flights Air New Zealand will operate from 4 February – for a total of six flights.

Air New Zealand has operated to China throughout COVID, taking New Zealand exports to market and bringing in vital supplies.

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air new zealand china Leanne Geraghty shanghai tourism new zealand