Picture: ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
Direct flights between Hobart and Auckland are ready to resume this Sunday (October 27), the airline and the Tasmanian airport say.
The route started in April 2021 but was paused by Air NZ back in April for fleet maintenance work.
Hobart Airport CEO Norris Carter says Hobart-Auckland tickets are now available as the airport promotes the service under a Sweet As Reunion marketing campaign.
“Every week we’ll have flights from Hobart to Auckland on a Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday,” he says.
He says the new service will add an extra 24,000 international seats over the next five months (summer).
“We know that around 10 per cent of passengers flying into Hobart from Auckland during the previous peak were North American visitors, who can fly to Australia but avoid the huge queues of the mainland hubs,” he says.
“For Tasmanian travellers, it not only means they have a chance to check out New Zealand but they have a one-stop option to jet across the world to destinations including the USA and Pacific Islands.”
These destinations include Fiji, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Honolulu and Queenstown, the airport says on its Facebook page.
Air NZ says it will operate an Airbus A320neo and a A321neo aircraft on the service.
Airline General Manager (International) Jeremy O’Brien says the airline is eager to return to Tasmania.
“It’s great to be starting our seasonal services again, connecting Kiwi to … Hobart and Aussies to our biggest city with domestic connections to 19 other destinations around Aotearoa (New Zealand),” he says.
“Hobart is our ninth Australian destination. It’s great to once again be offering our customers the option to travel there for another season over the warmer months.”
REACTION
Tasmanian Premier and Tourism Minister Jeremy Rockliff describes the news as “fantastic” for the state.
“The direct flights will provide fast and easy access to Tasmania for a crucial visitor market that injected $35 million into our economy in the year ending March 2024,” he says.
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO Amy Hills said: “The return of the direct Auckland flight to Hobart comes as a welcome boost to Tasmania’s visitor economy and tourism operators in the lead up to summer.”
