Air China is all set to resume its New Zealand capacity after a three-year hiatus. The airline will resume four weekly flights connecting Beijing Capital International Airport to Auckland from May 2, 2023. The airline will deploy its B787-9 on the route.
Post the lifting of restrictions Air China has rapidly resumed its international network to tap in the rapidly recovering market. Air China resumed direct flights to Rome last month with four weekly flights. The airline also resumed its London Gatwick flights from April 1, 2023 with four weekly flights deploying an Airbus A330-300 on the route.
As a part of its summer schedule the airline will resume thrice weekly service to Barcelona and ramp its Madrid capacity from three to four per week.
Air China currently has 14 Boeing 787-9s in its fleet, each with a maximum capacity of 293 passengers, spread over a three-class configuration.
Interestingly Air China will not face any direct competition on the Auckland route as Air New Zealand connects Auckland with Shanghai Pudong International Airport while China Southern Airlines connects Auckland to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.