Air New Zealand will begin operating its own seasonal Christchurch-Singapore flights next northern winter with a five-times weekly service that is set to take off on December 1, 2019 and wrap up on February 22, 2020.

Passengers of the New Zealand flag carrier now have access to flights on this routing through its joint-venture alliance with Singapore Airlines, which operates a year-round daily Airbus A350-900 service between the two cities and has previously operated an additional thrice-weekly seasonal service. Next year, however, this seasonal service will be operated by Air New Zealand and bumped up to a five-times-weekly schedule.

Flight No. From To Departs Arrives Days Operated by
NZ296 (SQ4296) Christchurch (CHC) Singapore (SIN) 1100 1625 Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun Air New Zealand
SQ298 Christchurch (CHC) Singapore (SIN) 1200 1740 Daily Singapore Airlines
NZ295 (SQ4295) Singapore (SIN) Christchurch (CHC) 1840 0930+1 Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun Air New Zealand
SQ297 Singapore (SIN) Christchurch (CHC) 1950 1040+1 Daily Singapore Airlines

There’s good news for premium travellers also, as Air New Zealand will be flying its new-configuration Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which is outfitted with more premium cabin seats than older configurations of this aircraft, on the route. 

The new-configuration 787-9s feature 27 rather than 18 Business Premier seats, and 33 rather than 21 seats in the premium economy cabin. Air New Zealand has four of its 14 Dreamliners outfitted in this configuration.

Business Traveller has previously reviewed Air New Zealand’s Business Premier product and service on its B777-300ER aircraft. 

Speaking about the seasonal increase on the route, Air New Zealand head of South and South East Asia, Jenni Martin, said: “We have seen strong demand for travel to New Zealand in the South and South East Asia market recently, and we expect these seasonal services and the increase in frequency during the peak season will appeal to travellers in this region.”

Tickets for the new service are expected to go on sale as early as January 23 next year.