Air China's inaugural flight from Beijing to Washington arrives at Dulles International Airport in Virginia June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS)
Air China's inaugural flight from Beijing to Washington arrives at Dulles International Airport in Virginia June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS) REUTERS/Gary Cameron

China flights from New Zealand will double in the near future. This follows a recent agreement between the two countries. Acknowledging the economic potential of the enhanced China flight capacity, the Auckland Airport welcomed the new Memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries recently. It was signed in Bali, last week. Mr Charles Spillane, Auckland airport's general manager for corporate affairs, said the new agreement would reinforce the commitment of both the countries to strengthen their relationship.

Doubling of Capacity

Under the new MoU, the existing capacity will be doubled. As a result, the number of flights between New Zealand and China will touch 42 per week, per country, reported Scoop.Nz The Auckland airport official added that "the rising flight connecitvity to China will help our tourism industry and economy." For new Zealand, "China is one of the fastest growing tourism markets," Spillane added.

Recently, Transport minister Simon Bridges had mentioned that the "number of connections To China will soon start to increase. In 2014, so far, 252,000 Chinese visitors have arrived in New Zealand by air," noted a 3 News report. This contrasts with the figure in 2009, where 108,000 Chinese visitors arrived by air. With the number of flights increasing, half a million Chinese tourists are expected in New Zealand by 2020, the minister added. A travel expert, Brent Thomas, said the growth from China is the result of its ballooning middle class and the increase in Chinese business visitors to New Zealand, who later follow it up with a visit by their families, reported Stuff.Co. Nz

Chef Deal

Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines signed a deal with chef and restaurateur Al Brown in its strategy to attract more New Zealanders on its airline. The airline's president Tan Wangeng said it has been progressively attracting a large number of kiwi passengers in its airline, which operates between Guangzhou and Auckland since 2011, reported NZ Herald.

Initially 90 percent of the passengers were Chinese people. Now this has come down to 60 per cent. "One of the purposes of introducing the new food is to attract more Western passengers," Mr Wangeng said and added that the airline is also putting a higher emphasis on better English language skills among its crew on the route. The airlines will start serving Brown's New Zealand-themed meals from 2015.