Air New Zealand to resume direct flights to Cairns and Sunshine Coast

Kiwis in search of winter sun will soon have their pick of Australia’s hotspots, with Air New Zealand set to restart two routes to Queensland. The airline will resume direct flights from Auckland to Cairns from March 29, and to the Sunshine Coast from June 25. Flights will be operated on the A320 and A321 aircraft. The Cairns route will see up to four services a week and run until October 25, while the Sunshine Coast route will operate three times a week, until October 15. Air New Zealand also operated these services throughout the winter season last year. The seasonal services add to Air New Zealand’s year-round flights to the Gold Coast and Brisbane, which operate out of Auckland and Christchurch. Air New Zealand also offers flights from Wellington to Brisbane. Tourism and Events Queensland group executive marketing Michael Branagh said with routes to four destinations, Queensland had more direct flights from New Zealand than anywhere else in Australia. “These new Cairns and Sunshine Coast direct routes provide Kiwis the opportunity to easily access stunning parts of Queensland they might not have visited before and we’re excited to welcome travellers to the Sunshine State,” he said. Air New Zealand short haul general manager Jeremy O’Brien said Australia was an important market for the airline and they were thrilled to be able to restart the seasonal services. “The Aussie region makes up more than 20% of our network with over 2.6 million customers flying across the ditch pre-Covid. We look forward to continuing to offer them multiple gateways into and out of the country.” The end of this month will also see Air New Zealand relaunch its nonstop flights from Auckland to Bali, which have not operated since 2019. This service is also seasonal, running until October 27.<br/>