Air New Zealand anticipates 2.8 million passengers during the holidays

Air New Zealand (ANZ) is anticipating passenger traffic to increase to 2.8 million between December 15, 2022, to January 31, 2021, following a surge in demand for the first holiday period since Covid restrictions eased. Anticipating this demand, the airline has ramped up its operations by hiring over 1,950 operational employees, around 1,200 cabin crew, 250 pilots, 400 airport employees, and 30 engineers. By February 2023, ANZ will have hired an additional 700 people.

Alex Marren, Chief Operating Officer of Air New Zealand, said: “During the same period last year, the airline carried just 1.1 million passengers, a clear indication that travel is rebounding.  Over recent weeks, we have seen a strong increase in bookings and over the summer, we'll be operating at pre-Covid levels. We know how important it is to get our customers to where they need to be safely, so we've strengthened our operations to ensure customers enjoy a seamless airport and inflight experience."

Air New Zealand is welcoming two new domestic A321neos into the fleet adding 50 additional seats per flight, bringing in charter airline Wamos Air to operate daily return Auckland – Perth services, and will bring back Boeing 777s from long-term storage.

Air New Zealand has also introduced biometric verification after a successful trial at Los Angeles Airport. On entering the US airports, customers can register with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) using their biometric information. This will aid in speeding up the boarding process and giving the passengers a seamless journey.

"Using biometrics at the boarding gate is only the beginning and we're in talks with industry players, globally and here in New Zealand, about how we can use biometric technology throughout the whole airport process,” said Nikhil Ravishankar, Chief Digital Officer, Air New Zealand.

With almost 3 million customers traveling on the Air New Zealand network this summer, the airline is gearing up for busy few weeks.

“We are back to more robust performance compared to our winter months when we experienced high levels of Covid. In preparation for summer, we've added some additional flexibility around our flight schedule and increased crew standby levels,” Marran concluded.