Christchurch Airport Charts Its Biggest-Ever Summer with New Routes and Bigger Aircraft

Christchurch Airport Prepares for Record International Season

Christchurch Airport is gearing up for its busiest international season ever, as airlines expand their networks, introduce larger aircraft and extend services beyond the traditional summer peak.

From November to March, travellers will have more than 1.27 million international seats to choose from, representing a 21% increase compared with the previous southern summer. Long-haul flights are driving much of the growth, rising by 54% and adding about 130,000 seats compared with last year.

Flights to Australia and the Pacific Islands are also increasing, with 11% more seats and an additional 89,000 places for travellers.

Air New Zealand’s New Routes

Air New Zealand will launch three new international services from Christchurch following a memorandum of understanding with the airport covering network growth, airport planning and customer experience.

Using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the airline will operate three weekly flights to Singapore from 28 October, Tokyo Narita from 28 November and Perth from 30 November. Together, the new routes will add more than 92,000 seats to Christchurch Airport’s international network.

The Tokyo and Perth services will continue beyond the traditional peak season, operating until 8 May and 7 May respectively.

The return of the Dreamliners follows a period when Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine maintenance issues grounded part of Air New Zealand’s long-haul fleet and limited the airline’s regional capacity. New aircraft deliveries and repaired aircraft returning to service have released capacity for the expansion.

Singapore Growth

Singapore is emerging as the busiest of the new and expanded corridors. Singapore Airlines will maintain its daily year-round service while adding three additional flights per week through the summer, increasing to five additional flights per week during peak periods.

Together with Air New Zealand’s three-times-weekly service, the increased capacity will provide South Island travellers travelling to Singapore and onward to Asia, Europe or beyond with more scheduling flexibility than in previous years.

On 22 November, the expanded services will result in three Singapore arrivals and three departures on a single day, with 1,560 seats available to and from the city.

Wider Network Expansion

Cathay Pacific will return from 2 November with up to five weekly flights to Hong Kong during the summer peak. Most of these services will use the larger A350-1000, providing 54 more seats per aircraft than the A350-900.

China Southern will operate daily flights to Guangzhou throughout the season and add three additional weekly flights for 12 weeks between December and February. This will bring the airline’s schedule to as many as ten flights per week, with both morning and evening options.

United Airlines will operate its larger Boeing 787-9 on the San Francisco route throughout the season, adding 14 seats per flight and more premium seats for passengers travelling across the Pacific.

Qantas will extend its third daily Sydney service from six weeks last summer to 14 weeks this time, adding about 11,700 seats. Its Brisbane flights will operate twice daily throughout the season. Overall, Qantas will have seven passenger flights into Christchurch each day, building on the trans-Tasman growth it announced in 2024.

Jetstar will introduce two new routes: a three-times-weekly Perth service from 27 October using the larger Airbus A321, and a four-times-weekly Sydney service from 26 October.

Fiji Airways will also increase its Nadi flights to as many as five per week during the December and January peak.

Impact on the South Island

Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson described the expansion as a vote of confidence from airlines that have other destinations where they could deploy their aircraft.

“Every new flight brings people, trade and opportunity. Visitors arriving here spread out across the South Island, supporting accommodation, hospitality, attractions and regional communities, while the same aircraft provide important connections for our exporters,” said Christchurch Airport Chief Executive Justin Watson.

For travellers, the improved connectivity means fewer unwanted layovers in Auckland and more direct options to Asia and Australia.