In preparation for the busy July school holidays, Air New Zealand has ramped up their holiday schedule.
Adding an extra 30,000 seats to its domestic service, the airline will fly close to half a million customers around Aotearoa over the next few weeks.
It is expected the other major domestic airline provider Jetstar will have done similar.
"We've seen impressive demand for travel across Aotearoa over the school holiday period," said Air NZ's chief operating officer, Alex Marren.
"To help get customers where they need to be, we've added 30,000 seats across 240 domestic flights.
"That means we have nearly half a million customers expected to travel with us from Friday July 5 until Sunday July 21."
Close to 760,000 customers will be travelling both domestically and internationally over the July school holidays, Air NZ said. The most popular location to travel is Queenstown with 31,000 customers flying to the beloved winter destination with the one airline.
Dunedin is also a hotly sought-after destination this weekend with the All Blacks set to verse England on Saturday. For that, Air NZ is adding nine additional return flights, or 2250 extra seats to transport fans to the southern city.
Passengers should prepare for busy airports.
"If you're travelling with little ones, or if you're carrying some extra winter gear, allow yourself plenty of time to check in, drop your bags and make your way to the gate," said Marren.
"The weather at this time of year can also cause disruption, so we recommend customers download the Air NZ app for the latest updates on their flight.
"Of course, it's always a good idea to purchase travel insurance to ensure you're protected in the event of a weather-related disruption."
Air NZ offered the following further tips to ensure your flights are as smooth as possible in the busy season:
· Double check the personal details on your booking are correct to avoid any airport hold-ups
· Download the Air NZ mobile app and subscribe to its Travel Alert service to keep up to date on the go
· Allow plenty of time to get to the airport and through security as it can take a little longer than usual – especially with extra winter gear
· As always, book travel insurance to ensure you're protected in the event of a weather-related disruption.
