Air NZ, Singapore Airlines deploying biggest aircraft for Auckland-Singapore flights
Singapore Airlines will bring the world’s biggest passenger aircraft to Auckland for regular services this summer.
And its strategic partner Air New Zealand will deploy its biggest aircraft, the Boeing 777, for Auckland-Singapore flights.
Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines said they would also boost capacity to Christchurch this summer.
The new services will run from late October to late March.
The airlines will have a rejig of Auckland-Singapore flights and reach a total of 15 Christchurch-Singapore flights a week.
Air New Zealand will still use the 787 Dreamliner for some Auckland-Singapore services.
Singapore Airlines will cut its three daily Auckland flights to two.
But it will deploy the Airbus A380, the world’s only full-length double-decker aircraft, with seating for up to 471 people.
Singapore’s A380 has 343 economy seats on the main deck and 44 in premium economy.
Upstairs, it has six suites and 78 seats in business class.
Previously, it was using the Boeing 777-300ER on the Auckland services.
New non-stop flights to Christchurch on Air New Zealand from the city-state should complement existing Singapore Airlines services, the carriers said today.
Singapore Airlines already had up to 12 weekly Christchurch-Singapore services.
Air New Zealand will use Boeing 787s for three Christchurch-Singapore services a week, bringing the alliance’s total services to 15 a week.
The airlines said there was growing demand for New Zealand-Singapore travel.
They suggested Singapore would also be a springboard for Kiwis travelling to Asia, India and Europe.
“Customers will benefit from more seamless connectivity, greater flexibility, and premium travel options across the joint network.”
The two airlines said the adjustments would boost their alliance and raise overall Singapore-New Zealand seat capacity.
Capacity would rise by 17% or 72,000 seats to more than 490,000 seats in total.
The expansion was still subject to approval from regulators.
Air New Zealand chief operations and alliances officer Michael Williams said Singapore was a leading global hub.
“The introduction of Air New Zealand’s Christchurch services is especially exciting because it creates more options for visitors to access some of New Zealand’s most popular destinations in the South Island, while remaining fully connected into Singapore Airlines’ extensive global network.”
Singapore Airlines senior vice-president of marketing and planning Dai Haoyu said the A380 deployment demonstrated the carrier’s commitment to New Zealand.
The airlines said flights were available for booking now.
Return Auckland-Singapore flights leaving Auckland in early December and returning mid-December were being offered on Singapore Airlines’ website today from $2118.84 in economy.
Flights for the same dates on Air New Zealand were on offer today from $2484 in economy.
Singapore Airlines has said it would start installing Starlink’s low Earth orbit satellite‑based broadband service on its Airbus A350-900s and A380s from early next year.
The flight from Singapore usually takes about nine hours and 40 minutes. From Auckland, it can take about 10 hours and 50 minutes, due to impacts from westerlies and from the subtropical jet stream.
Today’s announcement is in contrast to recent domestic and international capacity changes from New Zealand’s flag carrier.
Earlier this week, Air New Zealand said it would cut more flights from late July to late October because of volatile jet fuel prices.
John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation. He previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.
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