Coronavirus Covid-19: Air NZ sells more than 110,000 fares in one day

Air New Zealand almost sold more than 80,000 tickets than usual before Covid-19 yesterday, when more than 110,000 tickets were purchased.

The airline launched 180,000 tickets at its cheapest fares after the government removed physical distance requirements: 160,000 for less than $ 50.

Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said 70,000 were sold in the first six hours, showing that Kiwis are eager to get out and about the country.

“From Auckland, Tāhuna, Wellington and Christchurch were popular destinations, and it’s great to see customers taking flights to Waihōpai, Whangārei and Kerikeri as well,” he said.

“There was also a strong demand for travel reservations outside of Christchurch and Wellington.”

Masks are still required on flights and crew members wear masks and gloves.

Air New Zealand lounges will continue to operate under Alert Level 2 restrictions, which means each is capped at 100 people at any given time.

The national airline flies around 200,000 seats a week, representing around 70 to 75 percent of pre-Covid-19 capacity.

Foran told Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB today that Kiwis rushed to book holidays and domestic travel after the government yesterday eased physical distancing on planes and indicated that most of New Zealand apart from Auckland could be on level 1 on Tuesday.

“They [travellers] they’re going all over the country, the load factors have been strong everywhere, “Foran told Hosking.

“Not everyone goes to Queenstown … they go to all kinds of places, from Hokitika, Invercargill, Kerikeri, Gisborne, Napier. We are very satisfied with this situation.”

Most airlines tried to operate at 80 percent of capacity; operating at 50 percent was not feasible. “Once we can open this middle seat, which we have with people who wear masks, that’s a big problem for us.”