sbiddle

Has anybody heard anything about Air NZ's decision today to pull roughly 50% of flights on this route starting from a few weeks?

Route is moving to x567 only from May and moving to 4pm departures rather than morning flight .

nzkarit

Yep had that phone call earlier today to sort things. So now have lovely routing via AKL on the way there and via SYD on the way home. Suppose gives a chance to use the SHRU for WLG based people.

In May at least they have also dropped the evening SYD-WLG on a Sunday (and there is also no Sunday MEL-WLG evening). Again coming home via AKL as start that day in CBR, and don't fancy a 6.15 departure to make the morning SYD-WLG. Wish SQ still flew via CBR as it made the conference in CBR so easy.

sbiddle

I've rerouted via AKL as well. Have a few SYD trips with returns on Sunday nights in coming months which all look good right now so hope none of them change.

Thai-Kiwi

Me too WLG-BNE now via AKL (late May). Some seating issues as a non-NZ *G, but all easily resolved with a telephone call.

nzkarit

That was 3 May.
Sorted that out yesterday and my BNE flights today, so they are changing two weeks of flights a day or something.

henrus

Looks like it's not just changed to WLG services, several of my Trans Tasman flights between Brisbane and Christchurch have been moved between 20-40 minutes depending on the day. In addition the A320neo that was scheduled has become an older A320 on several days (down from a A321neo last year).

Ever since the Virgin split, Air NZ has been struggling with filling flights out of Brisbane and they just keep changing flight times. I've been doing BNE-CHC for years and it was always NZ804 BNE-CHC at 6pm and NZ801 CHC-BNE at 6am. During the Virgin agreement 801 became an afternoon flight back NZ805 leaving CHC at 3pm but as soon as the split happened they promised a bunch of additional services that never happened or have been significantly reduced ever since.

From BNE-CHC the additional daily service (4 days per week) lasted less than 6 months, and the additional A320 services from MEL-AKL and MEL-CHC were reduced by 50%

sbiddle

One of the problems trying to cut capacity on TT route(s) is that it doesn't just affect a single destination as planes aren't just flying A-B-A.

Air NZ ideally need early morning flights from NZ and evening departures from AU getting back at midnight. Those flights are essential particularly on weekends for the huge weekend travel market between NZ and AU.

There have been many times over the years when the Sunday evening MEL-WLG has been pulled as a consequence of having to reduce capacity on other routes, with that aircraft normally doing WLG-MEL-ZQN-MEL-WLG in a day. If you cut ZQN/MEL capacity you then end up with a plane that simply does an early morning WLG-MEL-WLG.

So far this year we've seen aggressive TT pricing from NZ even in Jan before the impacts of coronavirus were widely felt. You have to wonder if these cutbacks are a combination of softening TT travel combined with poor forward sales.

Taxes are the major issue on all TT routes and it's just utterly crazy that it's around the $200ish figure now, and even more for those having to pay our new arrival and travel auth fees.

SQ learnt the hard way that $245 taxes WLG/CBR meant you could never grow the WLG/CBR market, and you have to wonder now whether softening demand for travel is going to see a major TT shake up.

cavemanzk

I wonder how much this is put down to the a321NEO effect?

the 321s are constantly full ex-AKL, and to the accountants probably look allot more profitable than the a320NEO services ex-WLG.

Thinking we might see the last couple of a320NEO’s converted to a321NEOs.