More seats released on trans-Tasman routes

Both Qantas and Jetstar’s Tasman flying have flights resuming from Australia to Queenstown and Wellington, and additional routes to Christchurch from Melbourne and Brisbane.

Qantas has ramped up its transTasman schedule, doubling capacity this week compared to last week with an extra 15,000 seats.

Travellers have been struggling to find available seats on the route during May, with demand far outstretching supply on both Qantas and Air New Zealand.

Those who have been able to snaffle up seats have been forced to dig deep into their wallets, with many one-way flights edging up to the $1000 mark.

However, it’s hoped with increased capacity, those airfares will soon start to come down as the competition heats up.

Flights from Auckland to Sydney in June on Air New Zealand are currently ranging between $481 and $821 one way, or between $365 and $835 on Qantas.

Both Qantas and Jetstar’s Tasman flying have ramped up significantly this week, with flights resuming from Australia to Queenstown and Wellington, and additional routes to Christchurch from Melbourne and Brisbane.

Qantas has doubled frequency on flights to Auckland from Melbourne and Sydney and is operating some flights from Brisbane with A330s.

Jetstar has restarted flights on all Australia to Auckland markets and will restart on remaining Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington markets in the next few weeks.

From June 18, there will be additional services from Brisbane and Melbourne to Queenstown, and from June 20, will fly daily from Sydney to Auckland.

New Zealand is set to ditch its predeparture testing requirements on July 31, however tourism operators want it removed sooner.