Air New Zealand is expanding its service to Shanghai, "ramping up" as Kiwis travel to China for the Lunar New Year and as China reopens after nearly three years of tight Covid-19 restrictions.
After adding a third weekly flight in early January, the airline is moving to four passenger flights from Aotearoa to Shanghai from February 4, taking weekly capacity on the route to 1200 seats.
"Ramping up with an additional flight per week provides our customers with even more options for travel to this vibrant city," Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty said.
"This will be the first Lunar New Year that Chinese living in Aotearoa can be reunited with their families for this special holiday.
"We're seeing very strong demand across January for our flights into China. Most flights are full or close to full."
It's also hoped the move will help bring more Chinese travellers in the other direction.
Before Covid, China was New Zealand's second largest market by arrivals, with Chinese visitors spending $1.7 billion in 2019.
"With the addition of these new flights, we hope to make it even easier for New Zealanders to experience all that Shanghai has to offer and tap into the pent-up demand of Chinese tourists into New Zealand," Geraghty said.
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