Air NZ starts Christchurch-Adelaide service as transtasman competition heats up

Air New Zealand has started deploying some of its Airbus models on the Adelaide route. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Air New Zealand says its first Christchurch–Adelaide service returned today.

The flight touched down a few days before Qantas starts its Auckland-Adelaide service.

The inaugural Air NZ flight left Christchurch yesterday for the capital of South Australia.

New aircraft and leased engines made the service possible.

“Nearly 50,000 people travel between Adelaide and the South Island each year, primarily for holidays or to visit family,” Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox said.

“It builds on a strong civic and regional connection and supports more Kiwis and Aussies to explore each other’s backyards all summer,” Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson said.

“Direct connections like this one make a real difference to our tourism industry and to our regional economies,” Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said.

Air NZ said the service will operate twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays, until March 27, with about 15,000 seats available.

The Air NZ Adelaide service will use Airbus A320 or A321neo, large narrowbody aircraft.

One-way tickets to Adelaide from Christchurch for late November were selling today for $602 and from $351 to $426 in the first week of December.

For those booking further in advance, tickets for late January were going for $351 one way, in economy.

South Australia’s Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison said New Zealand was currently the state’s fourth-largest tourism market.

Bettison in May said tourism spending from New Zealand had risen 29% in the previous 12 months, with 48,000 Kiwis visiting South Australia in 2024.

In June, Air NZ’s previous chief executive Greg Foran told the Herald the airline had been able to lease a few more Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines.

Two new A321s arrived around the same time from the Airbus plant in Toulouse, France.

Air New Zealand already flies Auckland-Adelaide.

Qantas will use the 737-800 on its new Auckland-Adelaide service. Photo / Mertie, Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

Meanwhile, Qantas begins its Auckland-Adelaide service on Friday.

The Australian airline said those flights would take about four hours and 40 minutes.

Also a seasonal service, it will operate four times a week.

Qantas has said the route should add more than 30,000 seats.

It will use a Boeing 737-800, a large narrowbody aircraft.

One-way tickets to Adelaide were selling today for $387 to $407 in late November and for $407 to $428 in the first week of December.

And for those booking further in advance, tickets for late January were going for $387 one way, in economy.

The Auckland service is also aimed at better connecting South Australians with New York.

Qantas has said the Auckland service should allow people to fly from Adelaide and easily board the QF3 service in Auckland to New York.

Last month, Jetstar launched its biggest-ever expansion of New Zealand and transtasman routes.

Jetstar’s push included more frequent Auckland-Brisbane and Auckland-Sydney flights, and 26,000 more seats on Christchurch-Melbourne services.

John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation and courts. He has previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.

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