SIA, Air New Zealand to launch third daily Singapore-Auckland flight from Oct 2018

COME Oct 28, 2018, passengers flying between Singapore and Auckland will get more flight options.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Air New Zealand on Thursday said they will jointly launch a third daily flight between Singapore and Auckland, boosting capacity on the route by 40 per cent and adding more than 165,000 seats annually between the two cities.

This additional service, along with a revision of the current schedules, will reduce connection times and enhance connectivity through the Singapore hub, the airlines said.

The new service will operate daily during the peak northern winter season from Oct 28, 2018 to March 30, 2019, and five times per week during the northern summer season from March 31, 2019 to Oct 26, 2019.

Under their joint venture alliance established in January 2015, both airlines will continue to operate one daily return services each on the Singapore-Auckland route, with a third service operated by SIA during the winter season and by Air New Zealand in the summer season.

SIA will operate a mix of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, while Air New Zealand will utilise its new configuration 787-9 aircraft, offering more premium seats than its current 787-9 fleet.

Said SIA's senior vice-president of marketing planning, Tan Kai Ping: "Our alliance with Air New Zealand has already benefited customers through more capacity, choice, improved connections and more codeshare destinations. We are proud of the alliance's three destinations in New Zealand - Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington."

"The new flight to Auckland will increase convenience for our customers and demonstrates our commitment to the New Zealand market," he added.

The new service and revised flight schedules are subject to regulatory approvals, and tickets will be made available progressively through various distribution channels from Dec 8, 2017 onwards, said the airlines.