Air New Zealand has announced that Cathay Pacific will take over its Hong Kong services temporarily next year while it continues to deal with its Boeing engine issues.
The move comes after the national carrier cancelled holiday period flights to carry out important maintenance on the Rolls-Royce engines of its Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Cathay Pacific will introduce an additional 280-seat Airbus A350-900 aircraft on the daily Auckland-Hong Kong route from January 6 - 19, and will also operate a 294-seat Boeing 777-300ER on the same route from February 1 - March 28.
Passengers who have bought Air NZ tickets on the route during those periods will be automatically transferred to the Cathay Pacific services.
Air NZ's customer care and communications manager Doug Grant says customers shouldn't expect a drop in quality in the service.
"The Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER are modern aircraft of a similar high standard to our Air New Zealand fleet, so we know customers will receive the high level of service Cathay Pacific is known for," says Grant.
"This aircraft capacity will help fill the gaps in our schedule to get people to their destinations in the coming weeks and it's been beneficial to have our alliance partner Cathay Pacific step in and assist us at this busy time."
Air NZ is only one of several airlines dealing with the Rolls-Royce engine issue, so there is a long wait for replacement engines and repairs.
Customers with affected Auckland-Hong Kong fares will be directly contacted by either their travel agent or Air NZ in the coming week.
