Air NZ publishes Qtown to Australia schedule - tickets on sale

From Air New Zealand:

Air New Zealand is pre-loading the bubbles for customers on board its first quarantine-free flights across the ditch – 24,000 bottles in fact!

From 19 April 2021, Air New Zealand will be ramping up flights between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown and eight of its Australian ports.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says the airline is incredibly excited to have the border reopen to our Aussie neighbours.

“This is terrific news. I know Kiwis and Australians have been wanting to reconnect with whānau and friends for a year now and we’re incredibly excited to be playing a part in those reunions.

“I’ll certainly be digging out my passport for the first time since I joined the airline to head across the ditch to see my family and I’m especially looking forward to meeting some of my grandchildren for the first time.”

The airline has been preparing for a trans-Tasman bubble for a few months now, bringing furloughed crew back onboard and ensuring they are up to speed with training, along with making sure its international airports and lounges are ready for the influx of customers.

“Our people have shown incredible agility of the past 12 months as things have changed at an unbelievable pace. I’ve spoken to several our front-line staff who are thrilled to show our customers the world-class Air New Zealand customer service once again.

“We’d like to say a huge thanks to New Zealanders for standing by us while we’ve mainly been a domestic business for the past year. I’m extremely proud to say that we’ve got one of the most robust domestic businesses of any airline around the world. We look forward to being able to extend that across the Tasman.

“Pre-COVID-19, Australia was the largest tourism market for both our airline and New Zealand. We know a lot of tourism operators have been feeling the lack of international visitors so we’re looking forward to playing a role in New Zealand’s recovery.

“Using the strength of our domestic network we’ll be able to connect Australians with more destinations around the country. With the rest of the world still out of reach, New Zealand offers landscapes and experiences that are up there with the world’s best attractions.”

Air New Zealand trans-Tasman flights are on sale now. The schedule is as follows:

Auckland	Start date	Frequency
Brisbane	19 April	1-2 flights per day
Melbourne	19 April	1-3 flights per day
Sydney	19 April	3-5 flights per day
Perth	19 April (subject to approval)	6-7 flights per week
Gold Coast	19 April	6-7 flights per week
Adelaide	5 May	3-4 flights per week
Sunshine Coast	28 June	3 flights per week
Cairns	29 June	3 flights per week
Hobart	TBC	2 flights per week
Wellington	Start date	Frequency
Brisbane	19 April	3-5 flights per week
Melbourne	19 April	4-6 flights per week
Sydney	19 April	6-10 flights per week
Christchurch	Start date	Frequency
Brisbane	19 April	5-7 flights per week
Melbourne	19 April	6-7 flights per week
Sydney	19 April	7-11 flights per week
Gold Coast	24 April	1-3 flights per week
Queenstown	Start date	Frequency
Melbourne	19 April	3-5 flights per week
Sydney	19 April	4-7 flights per week
Brisbane	5 May	3 flights per week

Customers will be required to wear masks during travel to and from Australia and screening questions will be asked at check-in.

Air New Zealand’s international flexibility policy was recently extended so customers with flights scheduled to depart before 11:59pm on 31 December 2021 have the ability to opt into credit or make a change to the date or time of the flight with change fees waived (fare difference may still apply).