Air NZ increases capacity, Auckland Airport movements grow

Air New Zealand beefed up domestic capacity in the face of rising passenger numbers, particularly on Auckland-to-Queenstown routes which showed up in higher domestic passenger movements in Auckland International Airport's latest figures. Auckland-based Air NZ increased passenger numbers 5.2% to 1.61m in March from the same month a year earlier and expanded its available seat kilometres (ASK) 4.1% to 4,057m, it said in a monthly investor update. Of that, domestic passenger numbers climbed 8.3% to 1.09m and ASK climbed 7.9% to 672m, which Air NZ said was due to "increased services on Auckland-Queenstown and the main trunk routes, as well as growth on the regional routes resulting from up-gauging to larger aircraft." Auckland Airport's monthly traffic figures show domestic passenger movements rose 8.4% to 807,401 in March, outpacing a 6.6% gain in international passengers excluding transits to 397,706. Domestic aircraft movements increased 6.3% to 10,549. Queenstown airport, which is quarter-owned by Auckland Airport, posted an 11% increase in domestic passenger numbers in March to 132,086, even as domestic plane movements slipped 1.6% to 959. The airline's update shows domestic passenger numbers have climbed 5.8% to 7.86m in the nine months to March 31, and ASK has expanded 7.6% to 4,999m, outpacing the group's 4.1%t increase in passenger numbers to 12.1m and a 6.5% capacity expansion to 32,408m ASK.<br/>