After sticking with New Zealand throughout the pandemic, Singapore Airlines is reaping the rewards as demand on their New Zealand services soars.
Singapore Airlines is pleasantly surprised at the fast recovery of the New Zealand market. After remaining closed for almost two years, New Zealand tentatively began reopening its borders earlier this year. In response, Kiwis (and other travelers) began boarding planes to and from New Zealand again. It's a good problem, but Singapore Airlines' top man in New Zealand, George Robertson, says the rebound in passenger demand happened faster than anticipated.
Mr Robertson, Singapore Airlines' New Zealand General Manager, told Kiwi travel trade publication TravelInc Memo that the sudden surge in passenger demand caught head office on the hop. In response, Singapore Airlines has steadily ramped up its flights to and from New Zealand.
'It has been a collaborative effort with the trade," he said. "We have put out tactical promotions to entice customers to get back out there, and agents have been actively supportive of what we do."
Since early May, New Zealand has allowed fully vaccinated travelers from 60 visa waiver countries to enter relatively hassle-free. Previously, New Zealand reopened to its citizens stranded overseas, then travelers from neighboring Australia. Late last week, the New Zealand Government confirmed the country would reopen to travelers from all other countries on July 31 – earlier than previously planned.
"It provides certainty and good preparation time for airlines and cruise ship companies planning a return to New Zealand in the peak spring and summer seasons," said New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern.
It's more good news for Singapore Airlines (which maintained flights into New Zealand – albeit scaled back, throughout the entirety of the pandemic). The airline is now flying daily A350-900 flights into Auckland (AKL) and four times a week flights A350-900 flights to Christchurch (CHC). Mr Robertson says those Christchurch flights will soon move to daily services.
Missing from the mix is the Kiwi capital Wellington (WLG). Singapore Airlines flew there before the pandemic, via Melbourne (MEL) and before that, via Canberra (CBR). After suspending services to Wellington when the pandemic began, Singapore Airlines later permanently pulled the plug on its Wellington services. Recently, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson told Simple Flying, while never say never, they have no immediate plans to return to Wellington.
There's not a lot of availability on Singapore's Auckland flights for the remainder of May – and what seats are available are pretty sharply priced. And good on Singapore Airlines for filling those planes with passengers because for a long time, they couldn't. But it begs the question, is the demand there to return the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800 to New Zealand?
The Singapore Airlines spokesperson wouldn't be pinned down on the A380 question either, telling Simple Flying that deploying one of their A380s onto any route depended on various factors – including passenger demand and aircraft availability.
In the meantime, the A350-900 is a far more economical plane to fly, and looking at the fares for the remainder of the available seats on the Singapore – Auckland city pair this month, Singapore Airlines is trousering some pretty decent revenue from the route. After a long revenue drought, why would an airline mess with a route that is finally producing some financial rewards?
Source: TravelInc Memo
Lead Journalist – Southwest Pacific -.A Masters level education and appetite for travel combine to make Andrew an incredible aviation brain with decades of insight behind him. Andrew’s first-hand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing Australian airlines adds exciting depth and color to his work. Andrew is based in Sydney.