School holiday hotspots revealed as 850,000 Air New Zealand customers prepare to fly

Air New Zealand is preparing to carry around 850,000 customers across its domestic and international networks during the upcoming school holiday period, with Queenstown, Sydney, and Rarotonga among the most popular destinations.

Between 24 September and 11 October, more than 520,000 customers are expected to travel domestically, while almost 330,000 will travel internationally. The busiest domestic day is at the start of the school holidays, with more than 33,000 customers travelling on Friday 25 September. There are also more than 32,000 customers travelling on both Friday 2 October and Friday 9 October.

To help meet demand, Air New Zealand has added more seats on some of its most popular routes. Compared with the same holiday period last year, there are 23% more seats between Auckland and Sydney, 10% more between Auckland and Queenstown, and 12% more between Auckland and Brisbane.

Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer - Ground and Inflight, Kate Boyer, says the school holidays are always a busy and exciting time across the airline's network.

"We'll have families heading away, kids flying on their own to see grandparents, people travelling for some big events, and plenty of Kiwi making the most of the break. Behind the scenes, thousands of our people will be working across the network to keep everything moving, and we're looking forward to getting everyone where they need to be."

Close to 150,000 customers are travelling to and from South Island holiday favourites Queenstown, Nelson and Dunedin over the break.

Across the ditch, more than 170,000 customers are travelling to and from Australia, with Sydney taking the top spot, followed by Brisbane and Melbourne. The trans-Tasman action also continues after the school holidays with the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney on 17 October. Air New Zealand has added nearly 1,000 seats for the weekend, including two additional return services between Auckland and Sydney.

For those chasing some Pacific sunshine these school holidays, more than 50,000 customers are heading to the islands, with Rarotonga the favourite, followed by Nadi and Apia. And for those venturing further afield, Singapore tops the long-haul list, ahead of Japan and Los Angeles.

"The teams have been preparing for weeks for school holidays," says Kate Boyer. Our goal is to sustain our recent strong on time performance even through this busy period - and that takes careful preparation and teamwork."

With flights expected to be busy, customers are also being encouraged to check their cabin baggage allowance before travelling.

"Overhead locker space can be pretty tight on busy flights, so we encourage customers to check they are within limits before they leave home. Economy customers should make sure their main carry-on bag is within the 7kg allowance, and if you're taking more, it's best to organise checked baggage before you travel to avoid having to re-pack at the airport," says Kate Boyer.

Air New Zealand is also bringing back a couple of school holiday favourites for its youngest customers.

The Kia Ora Kids magazine will return onboard, packed with activities to help keep young travellers busy during the journey. And for kids who aren't on a plane themselves these holidays, the airline's Plane Spotter's Guide is back too.

Designed for curious young aviation fans, the free guide helps kids work out what's flying overhead, from regional ATRs and Q300s to Airbus aircraft, Dreamliners and 777s.

No airport required. Take it to the local park, the beach, the backyard or on a road trip, look up and see how many you can spot before school goes back.

Download Air New Zealand's Plane Spotters Guide here

The guide includes illustrations, simple spotting clues and fun facts about the Air New Zealand fleet, helping kids learn the difference between aircraft by their size, wings, engines and even their sound.

"We hope everyone travelling has a great break, and for those staying closer to home, keep an eye on the sky. You never know what might fly over," says Boyer.