Air New Zealand To Resume Singapore Flights On Jan 6: Excited After Alliance With Singapore Airlines

Air New Zealand will restart its flights to Singapore's Changi Airport from January 6 -- eight years after Air New Zealand pulled out its Singapore flights in 2006 due to heavy losses in the sector, reported Stuff. Co. Nz

Christopher Luxon, CEO, Air New Zealand said the alliance was a milestone in the airline's growth strategy. Accordingly, tickets for codeshare flights on both airlines' services will be on sale from September 25.

Daily Flight

From January 6 onwards, Air New Zealand will operate a daily return flight between Auckland and Singapore under its newly forged alliance with Singapore Airlines. The service will replace an existing double daily service of the Singapore Airlines on the route. But Singapore Airlines will be operating a daily service to Auckland with an Airbus A380 super jumbo during the northern winter and revert to smaller Boeing 777-300ERs during the northern summer. Singapore Airlines already operates a service between Christchurch and Singapore.

The alliance between the two airline companies will boost the existing capacity on the route by 30 percent. Air New Zealand stands to gain with its access to 50 destinations of the Singapore Airlines' and its subsidiary SilkAir's network. The alliance has been approved by the New Zealand Minister of Transport and Competition Commission of Singapore. Christopher Luxon said the new service will stimulate the market and drive up visitor numbers from both the destinations.

According to Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong, the alliance was an example of how the two airlines can work together than doing things individually. Phong said one important part of the alliance was the commitment it places on the highly important Southwest Pacific market.

Areas of Agreement

The agreement between the two airlines stipulates codeshare connectivity to 50 destinations on the Singapore Airlines network and on Singapore Airlines' subsidiary SilkAir throughout South East Asia, Europe, UK and South Africa. Similarly, the Singapore Airlines customers will also have access to nearly 40 codeshare destinations under the Air New Zealand network. Christopher Luxon added that Air New Zealand is excitingly looking forward to operating to Singapore for the first time in eight years.