Dec 7, 2017 - Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines today announced they will jointly launch a third daily flight between Auckland and Singapore from 28 October 2018, boosting capacity on the route by up to 40 percent and adding more than 165,000 seats annually between the two cities. The additional service, along with a revision of current schedules, will shorten connection times and improve connectivity through the Singapore hub. The new service will operate daily during the peak Northern Winter season (28 October 2018 – 30 March 2019), and five times per week during the Northern Summer season (31 March 2019 – 26 October 2019). During peak months the airlines will jointly operate a total of 35 return services a week between Singapore and New Zealand, including Christchurch and Wellington flights. Under their joint venture alliance that took effect in January 2015 the airlines will continue to operate one daily return service each on the Auckland-Singapore route, with a third service operated by Singapore Airlines during the Northern Winter season and Air New Zealand during the Northern Summer season. Air New Zealand will operate its new configuration 787-9 aircraft, offering more Premium Economy and Business Premier seats than its current 787-9 fleet. Singapore Airlines will operate a mix of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, depending on the season. Air New Zealand Chief Strategy, Networks and Alliances Officer, Nick Judd, expects the new service and revised schedules to be especially appealing to travellers to and from Europe, India and Southeast Asia. “Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named Skytrax World’s Best Airport for the past five years and with connection times with European services now three hours or less this is a very comfortable and convenient transit stop for travellers in both directions.” Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Mr Tan Kai Ping, said: “Our alliance with Air New Zealand has already benefited customers through more capacity, choice, improved connections and more codeshare destinations. We are proud of the alliance’s three destinations in New Zealand - Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. The new flight to Auckland will increase convenience for our customers and demonstrates our commitment to the New Zealand market.” The new joint service and revised flight schedules are subject to regulatory approvals. Tickets for the new Auckland-Singapore service will be on sale from tomorrow (8 December 2017). | A joint airline release  ||  December 7, 2017   |||