Air New Zealand is adding extra flights to Perth to support the Kiwi flag carrier’s services to the Americas.
The new three times a week Perth-Auckland offering, which starts on December 11 2015 and runs until May 1 2016, will be flown with Boeing 767-300 aircraft and adds to an existing daily 787-9 service on the route, Air NZ said in a statement on Friday.
The flights will be operated during daytime hours and timed to meet Air NZ’s flights to the United States, Canada and Argentina.
Air NZ chief sales and commercial officer Cam Wallace said the extra flights would connect seamlessly to the airline’s long-haul services across the Pacific from the its Auckland hub.
“We know travellers prefer to get to their destinations as quickly, comfortably and seamlessly as possible and we’re pleased to be able to time these extra services specifically to suit the West Australian market,” Wallace said in a statement on Friday.
Air NZ flies to Los Angeles, Vancouver, San Francisco and Honolulu from its Auckland hub. The carrier is also launching service to Houston and Buenos Aires in December.
Air NZ has been heavily promoting one-stop connections from Australia to the US via its Auckland hub in recent times, with ticket sales advertising return fares well below $1,000 on selected dates.
In addition to supporting its Americas network, Wallace said the new service to Perth would also boost tourism to NZ.
“We see the popularity of our nation continue to grow in the Australian market,” Wallace said.
“There’s no doubt a lot of West Australians will take advantage of this extra capacity and some hot deals to experience New Zealand.”
According to flight schedules published on the Airline Route website, NZ177 is due to depart Auckland at 1900 on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays for a 2140 arrival in Perth.
The reciprocal NZ178 takes off from the WA capital at 0600 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in Auckland at 1730 local time.
The airline’s seasonal twice a week Perth-Christchurch service operates with Boeing 767-300s on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Air NZ said its trans-Tasman alliance partner Virgin Australia would codeshare new Perth-Auckland services.
Virgin partners with Delta Air Lines on trans-Pacific routes. The pair is seeking reauthorisation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for their alliance.
