Matariki menu celebrates the Māori New Year in Air New Zealand lounges

20 June 2024
  • Matariki-inspired dishes to be served from 27 June - 3 July
  • Seasonal flavours showcased in new winter lounge menu
  • Bagels added to breakfast line-up

A feast to celebrate Matariki 2024 will await travellers in select Air New Zealand lounges from Thursday 27 June to Wednesday 3 July.

In keeping with the theme "Matariki Heri Kai - the feast of Matariki", dishes taking inspiration from traditional Māori cuisine will be on offer in the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown lounges.

The special spread will include roasted sweetcorn chowder, rēwena bread, apple cider pork and cabbage with puha pesto, and charred sweet potatoes with honey. Cured salmon on seeded lavosh will also be served as a kaimoana (seafood) treat.

Customers who miss out on the Matariki menu will still be able to enjoy seasonal flavours featured in the airline's new winter lounge menu.

Air New Zealand has this month refreshed the offerings across its lounges, with highlights including pork belly with spiced plum sauce, roasted kumara, carrots and parsnips with tahini dressing, spiced pumpkin soup and potato gnocchi with pumpkin creme sauce.

An expanded breakfast line-up includes veal sausage, skillet sweet potato hash, and bagels with raspberry jam, cream cheese and Biscoff spread.

Air New Zealand General Manager Customer Experience Kylie McGillivray-Brown says the airline updates its lounge menus every few months to showcase the best of what is available each season.

"We also take customer feedback into account when reviewing our menus. For example, our lounge customers told us they wanted more options to customise their dishes, so we're now offering more condiments like hot chili sauce, harissa and mint yoghurt dressing.

"As much as our lounge customers love variety, it's also clear they have their firm favourites - we go through 3800kg of cheese and 5500 boxes of crackers a month, so you can rest assured the cheese board won't be going anywhere!"

 

 

Ends

Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.

Email: media@airnz.co.nz  │  Phone: +64 21 747 320 

About Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has 104 operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 7.3 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. Pre-Covid, the airline flew more than 17 million passengers every year, with 3,400 flights per week. Air New Zealand was recently named the World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety. Last year, Air New Zealand won Best Corporate Reputation in New Zealand – 8th year in a row.

Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the US, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework  helps guide the airline's efforts in tackling some of New Zealand's and the world's most complex challenges. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.

 

About Star Alliance

Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of 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 recognized 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, Avianca, 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 Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.