'Visiting friends and whānau': Air NZ's increased Pacific flight seats beats largest pre-covid sale

Since adding tens of thousands of seats to their Polynesia-based flights, within three days Air New Zealand has outsold their largest seat sales since 2019.

From November 2024 to March 2025, Auckland to Sāmoa, Nadi, Tonga, Rarotonga and Tahiti will have an additional 13,000, 12,000, 7,000, 7,000 and 2,500 seats respectively.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Air NZ International General Manager Jeremy O'Brien said within three days of being on sale, their island destinations have sold more seats since their largest sale in 2019.

"The islands are very popular for a couple of reasons. There's nothing like the sun, the beaches and the hospitality of the islands," O'Brien said.

"But also we know that the link between New Zealand and the Pacific Islands in terms of visiting those friends and whānau is significant.

"We're one of the largest Pasifika populations in the world out of Auckland."

O'Brien said that the move to increase seating was in response to increasing demand for travel to and from the Pacific, with the Pacific being an important market.

"Over those summer months, we've seen a lot of demand and we had the opportunity to move some seats there.

"The importance of this market is a key customer base for us so we wanted to support and fill that demand."

Aitutaki. Photo /Air New Zealand

O'Brien said demand is a key player in seating as they have a limited number of aircraft, meaning the best optimisation for their finite flights was taking the increased capacity from their Australian route.

He said out of all the islands, Fiji takes the crown as the most popular spot for travellers, saying it's likely due to Fiji being a large leisure destination.

"It's changed a little bit over the last couple of years. We've seen Rarotonga significantly grow in terms of a leisure destination.

"We also have very strong links into Sāmoa and Tonga from visiting friends and family."

Fiji is top of the list of Pacific destinations. Photo /Air New Zealand

O'Brien said they hope the increased Pacific seating becomes long-term, as seating can impact the cost for customers.

He said Covid has had a major impact on pricing, where the costs for Air NZ have increased by 40 per cent since in 2019.

"Like most services, there's a cost base we have to cover. So, we had to cover that cost to run a viable business.

"Running a business you have a margin you wish to get because that gives you the opportunity to reinvest in your product - buy new aircraft, upgrade cabins, provide food and beverage.

"[Demand] fluctuates across the year. Some times in the year are more popular than others. Some days of the week are more popular. All of those different factors drive demand."

Watch the full interview via 531pi’s FB below: