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Air New Zealand will enable the country’s South Island to transport perishable goods around the world by flying its 787-Dreamliner between Christchurch and Auckland three times a week.
From Auckland, the freight will then fly onwards to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Narita, Shanghai as well as Australia.
Air New Zealand general manager of cargo Rick Nelson said, “These Dreamliner services from Christchurch will allow exporters with high value, perishable and time-sensitive goods access to a same day air cargo link into international services departing from Auckland.”
The aircraft, which will accept passenger bookings, will fly from the South Island to the North on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Christchurch at 5pm and arriving in Auckland at 6:25pm.
“As the nation emerges from lockdown, it’s critical our exporters in the South Island are well supported in order for them to remain viable,” said Nelson.
The service is thought to be part of a wider New Zealand government initiative to underwrite cargo routes to kickstart imports and exports.
Among the first batch of airlines to sign up for the $330 million ‘International Airfreight Capacity’ agreement are Air New Zealand, China Airlines, Emirates, Freightways Express, Qantas and Tasman Cargo.
The scheme will initially include 56 weekly flights from the country and mirrors a similar scheme launched last week across the Tasman in Australia.
On Monday, Australian Aviation reported how the national carrier would operate seven additional routes when the country’s coronavirus restrictions are lowered over the coming days.
The new flights, including Christchurch to Hamilton, are over and above the 25 routes previously announced by the airline on Friday. A full list is at the bottom of this article.
On Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country is moving from so-called Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2 this week, including re-opening cafes and restaurants on Thursday and schools from next Monday.
ALERT LEVEL TWO: ANZ PROPOSED PASSENGER NETWORK
New services in green
Auckland to/from
- Blenheim
- Dunedin
- Rotorua
- Christchurch
- Gisborne
- Kerikeri
- Napier
- Nelson
- New Plymouth
- Palmerston North
- Tauranga
- Wellington
- Whangarei
- Queenstown
Christchurch to/from
- Hamilton
- Hokitika
- Tauranga
- Dunedin
- Invercargill
- Nelson
- Palmerston North
- Wellington
- Queenstown
Wellington to/from
Billy Bob Thornton
says:New Zealand has been flying four pages on constant rotation to and from Shanghai, every day since lockdown started. What is so time sensitive that needs so many flights to China?