A record sales afternoon for Araraurangi (Air New Zealand)

More than 110,000 Air New Zealand seats were snapped up yesterday compared to the usual 31,000 per day pre-COVID-19 - one for the record books.
15 Mahuru 2020

The airline marked the Government's removal of physical distancing by releasing 180,000 of its cheapest fares, with 160,000 of these available for under $50 which drove the record sales afternoon.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says this clearly shows Kiwis are keen to get out and travel around Aotearoa.

"As soon as the Government announced the removal of physical of distancing travel demand was strong, with 70,000 seats sold in the first six hours.

"From Tāmaki Makaurau - Tāhuna, Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Ōtautahi were hot destinations, and it's terrific to see customers snap up flights to Waihōpai, Whangārei and Kerikeri too. There was also strong demand for bookings for travel out of Ōtautahi and Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

"Kiwis have been incredibly supportive of our airline through what has been a difficult year and we look forward to welcoming more customers on board for their domestic trip soon."

Although physical distancing has been removed on aircraft, it is still safe to fly. Masks remain a requirement for customers and crew will continue to wear masks and gloves.

While there will be more Kiwis travelling around the country, Air New Zealand lounges will continue to operate under Alert Level 2 restrictions meaning each lounge has a cap of 100 people at any given time.

Air New Zealand is currently flying approximately 200,000 seats per week, which is around 70-75 percent of pre-COVID-19 capacity.


Ends

Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.

Email: media@airnz.co.nz  │  Twitter: @AirNZMedia

About Star Alliance

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to more than 1,250 airports in 195 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.

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