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Air New Zealand’s inaugural flight between Vietnam and Christchurch via Singapore took off on 1 December 2019, marking the start of its five times weekly seasonal service, which will operate until 22 February 2020.

This route provides more choices for Vietnamese travellers when flying to New Zealand.

The inaugural flight departed at 6.40pm from Changi Airport and landed in Christchurch around 9.35am (all times local). The services will be operated with Air New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, offering increased capacity across its cabins.

Air New Zealand’s Head of South and South East Asia, Jenni Martin, who travelled on the inaugural service, said the launch of the airline’s Vietnam-Christchurch seasonal service will further support the growing demand for travel to New Zealand from the market, where it sees Vietnamese showing a strong interest in the stunning attractions New Zealand has to offer.

“Vietnam is amongst the top potential countries for visitor arrivals to New Zealand and we expect the numbers to rise further. As of September 2019, data from Stats NZ revealed a 5.7 per cent year-on-year increase in visitor arrivals from Singapore, which presents a significant tourism growth opportunity for the New Zealand economy.

“The new service is the latest addition to Air New Zealand’s network covering 32 international cities in 20 countries, providing our customers with enhanced connectivity,” she added.

The increased demand has translated into strong performance on Air New Zealand’s flights, which saw a 116 per cent jump in the number of passengers on its New Zealand-Singapore routes between July 2019 and November 2019, compared to the same period last year. Similarly, the airline’s Singapore-New Zealand routes grew by 68.7 per cent.

The launch of the seasonal service follows recent plans to increase capacity between Auckland and Singapore from end-March to October, commencing in 2020, as part of the joint venture alliance between Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines.

Mai Lan