Air New Zealand has added flights between Shanghai and Auckland following strong demand from travelers for more services between China and New Zealand.

From the start of November, Air New Zealand has begun to operate two extra services per week between Shanghai and Auckland, increasing its weekly operations from three to five.

The two new services fly on Thursday and Saturday, complementing Air New Zealand's current services that fly on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

All flights between Shanghai and Auckland are operated with the 313-seat Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

"As the Chinese do more business with New Zealand and are increasingly visiting the country as a travel destination, we have seen an upsurge in passengers flying our Shanghai-Auckland route," said Peter Elmsly, General Manager of Greater China. "The new services are being introduced to meet this growing demand, offering greater flight flexibility, particularly among our business customers."

Tourism rises

For the year ended June 2007, visitors from China to New Zealand jumped by more than 20 percent to 116,000, while the number of Kiwis visiting China rose to 53,000.

The airline will also introduce double daily services between Hong Kong and Auckland on Fridays and Sundays from November 30 to March 2, 2008.

In addition, Air New Zealand has been operating a code-share agreement with Air China and Shanghai Airlines since July 1 on its services between Shanghai and Auckland and on selected New Zealand domestic services.

The two code-share pacts have opened up the Chinese and New Zealand markets to more passengers.

"China is a key strategic market for Air New Zealand and our code-share agreements with Air China and Shanghai Airlines, and our service increases, demonstrate our continued commitment to the China market," Elmsly said.

"As the national flag carrier of New Zealand, we are proud to be playing a key role in bringing these two countries and their peoples closer."

(Shanghai Daily November 5, 2007)