Ahead of the southern summer (northern winter) season, Auckland Airport announced China Airlines will operate a seasonal service between Auckland and Melbourne.
Ahead of the southern summer (northern winter) season, Auckland Airport announced China Airlines will operate a seasonal service between Auckland and Melbourne.
Starting in December, the new seasonal seasonal service will operate five-times weekly between Auckland and Melbourne, and onward to Taipei.
The new service will offer more travel options between Auckland and Melbourne, where according to Auckland Airport Chief Customer Officer Scott Tasker, the seat capacity between the two cities – the second bigest trans-Tasman market - is still around 75% compared to before the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, the flights haven’t been there to meet the demand and that’s been reflected in airfares that are well up on what we were paying pre-pandemic. It’s great to have a full-service airline like China Airlines step up its trans-Tasman services to include the Auckland-Melbourne route,” said Tasker.
China Airlines' new Auckland-Melbourne-Taipei route will add to its current five-weekly flights on the Auckland-Brisbane-Taipei route. The airline will also increase flights on that route to six times weekly during the summer months.
Tasker further highlighted the history of the Taipei-based carrier operating at Auckland, and how the new flights will add more passenger and cargo capacity between the city and Taiwan – New Zealand's fifth largest air export market.
“Taiwan is our number one cherry export market, so this additional capacity across the summer months is perfectly timed for our local growers to get their product into that market in top condition,” Tasker said.
Tasker added: “And while Taiwan is our 12th largest inbound visitor market, there is a strong local Taiwanese population in Auckland driving those VFR – or ‘visiting friends and relatives’ – links.”
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