Air New Zealand eyes flights to India, Philippines

Air New Zealand remains eager to add new destinations once its current shortfall of aircraft subsides, and the United Kingdom tops the list of “international markets visited by New Zealanders” beyond today’s AirNZ network.

But it’s not all about London: India, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia are also earmarked for a growth spurt of direct flights across Asia, with Germany and France joining the UK as potential stop-over markets.

While all of those routes are currently served by Air New Zealand’s joint venture partner Singapore Airlines, the airline shared its own wish-list in a presentation during its Investor Day 2024 held on Monday November 25.

There are currently no direct flights between New Zealand and India, the Philippines or Thailand, while Malaysia Airlines has a daily service between Auckland and Kuala Lumpur.

There’s been recent speculation that Air New Zealand intends to resume flights to London – a route once flew via Los Angeles, and abandoned in early 2020.

The NZ carrier subsequently sold its landing and take-off slots at London Heathrow slots for NZ$42 million, but has reportedly gained a new slot at Gatwick; the airline says it is “exploring options” for a possible return to London.

The airline is “constantly reviewing our network, and we actively listen to the feedback we get from New Zealanders as to where they would love to fly,” said an Air New Zealand spokesperson.

Then there’s the matter of which city would act as a stopover for the rebooted Auckland-London route: suggested cities include Los Angeles, Hong Kong (which was used until 2013), Singapore, Vancouver, New York or even Houston.

International travellers make up just over one-third of Air New Zealand’s total passenger base but generates twice the revenue of domestic routes, at around NZ$4bn per year.

50% of those passengers are leisure travellers, 12% fly for business and 38% fall into the ‘visiting friends and relatives’ category.

A key growth opportunity outlined at the Investor Day is “increased premiumisation in long-haul”, which from 2025 will come in the form of not only the long-awaited new Business Premier seats but Business Premier Luxe suites at the front of the cabin.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.