Flying domestic with Air New Zealand this summer? Here's what you can expect

Kiwis will be taking to the skies above Aotearoa at pre-Covid levels over the summer holiday period. Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said December 23 was shaping up to be the airline’s busiest day for domestic travel, with more than 32,000 customers booked to travel at this stage – 1000 more than the same time last year. December 15 and 16 were also expected to be some of the biggest days for travelling, as many Kiwis looked set to start their Christmas holidays a week early. Some Air New Zealand passengers can look forward to flying on the new A321neo aircraft, the airline’s biggest-ever jet dedicated to domestic flying, with 217 seats. The first entered service this week, while the second – which will be the world’s first black Star Alliance aircraft – will arrive on November 22. These snazzy new jets will be used on trunk routes, that is between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and in some cases, Dunedin. As Geraghty explained, they’ll be put into the schedule where they’re “needed the most”. The usual domestic jets – the A320s, with 171 seats – will also be in action on the trunk routes. If you’re travelling to the regions, you’ll be flying on one of the airline’s turboprop planes. These are the 68-seat ATR72, and the 50-seat De Havilland Q300. Story has more.<br/>