Air NZ increases flights to Korea, Japan

Air New Zealand will be able to provide up to 11 return flights to Korea under a reciprocal agreement between the two countries, Transport Minister Paul Swain announced today.

Previously, each country's airline had been restricted to the equivalent of 4.2 Boeing 747 flights a week.

Both governments had also agreed to remove restrictions on where flights could stop en route and where they could land, which would give passengers greater choice.

"Korea represents one of the fastest-growing tourism markets for New Zealand and these arrangements allow the airlines to plan for meeting this demand," Mr Swain said in a statement.

As well, the Japanese government had agreed to let Air NZ increase its Boeing 747 flights from two to three a week, giving an extra 160 seats a week on flights from Japan.

- NZPA