Air NZ cuts more domestic flights and increases fares as jet fuel price doubles

If you’re booking flights over the next couple of months, you might notice less options and slightly pricier tickets as airlines adjust their services again.

Air New Zealand has confirmed it’s making more cuts to its flight schedule and increasing some fares, as jet fuel prices continue to spike due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The airline says a “small number of schedule changes” will affect travel across both May and June, with around 4% of flights impacted - but only about 1% of passengers.

Jet fuel prices are currently more than double what they’d usually be, which has forced them to make some tough calls.

“We have worked hard to keep disruption to a minimum, with the vast majority of impacted customers still travelling on the same day,’ an Air New Zealand spokesperson says.

Anyone impacted will be contacted, with notifications rolling out this week.

Some regions will feel the impact more than others.

Changes to Air NZ flights to and from Tauranga

Tauranga is seeing fewer rotations (return flights) scheduled between May and June.

While the airline hasn’t specified the reductions, MP for Bay of Plenty Tom Rutherford shared that Air NZ informed him of the “temporary reductions”.

“For the May and June schedule, they will be consolidating Auckland services by 27 rotations (averaging 4 per week), Wellington services by 30 rotations (averaging 4 per week), and Christchurch services by 10 rotations (averaging 1 per week),” Rutherford clarified in a Facebook post.

 Changes to Air NZ flights to and from Nelson

Nelson is also taking a hit, with around 140 flights being cut, which works out to roughly 8,000 fewer seats in and out of the region over the two months.

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith shared an update in his own Facebook post on April 7, writing: “Air New Zealand has announced today it is canning 70 Nelson flights to and from Wellington, 40 to and from Christchurch and 30 to and from Auckland in May and June in response to the global oil crisis and the very high cost of aviation fuel.”

Smith called the changes “disappointing but understandable,” given the current fuel situation.

This isn’t the first time Air NZ has had to make changes recently. Back in mid-March, the airline announced it would cancel around 1,100 flights through to early May due to rising jet fuel costs, impacting roughly 44,000 passengers.

Air New Zealand isn’t alone in needing to adjust.

Changes to Jetstar flights

Announced in late March, Jetstar also made the decision to cut back some domestic and Trans-Tasman flights, with about 12% of its services affected in May - including routes like Auckland to Sydney, Brisbane, Wellington and Christchurch.

Like Air NZ, Jetstar says it is aiming to limit disruptions to passengers. 

“All impacted passengers have been contacted directly, and most have been offered same-day travel. We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank our customers for their understanding,” a Jetstar spokesperson said at the time.

If you’ve already booked travel in, keep an eye on your notifications in case your flight changes. And if you’re planning a trip, it might pay to book sooner rather than later… and be prepared for slightly higher prices than usual.