Dec 14, 2017  - Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have today announced changes to one of their key alliance routes driven by an improved demand outlook.  The two airlines are set to provide customers with an expanded schedule of flights on the Auckland-Brisbane route, with up to five extra flights per week delivering an additional 38,000 seats between April and October 2018. This means customers will now be able to choose from up to 34 return services per week. In addition, Virgin Australia will be re-timing its weekday Auckland-Brisbane service to provide a better evening schedule proposition for the alliance, with the choice of departure times of 4:00pm, 6:00pm and 7:30pm allowing for more flexibility for customers. Air New Zealand Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace says the new services are timed for seamless connections to domestic ports at both ends of the route. “Demand for trans-Tasman travel continues to be strong and it’s a market we’re focused on growing. Together with Virgin Australia, we’ll offer up to six daily return flights between Brisbane and Auckland next winter - a capacity boost of more than 10 percent compared with the same period this year.” Group Executive for Virgin Australia Airlines Rob Sharp welcomed these changes, saying that the alliance will continue to look for opportunities to offer better connections and flight frequencies between Australia and New Zealand for its customers. “Virgin Australia is pleased to see the growth in demand for these services and these network changes. Our alliance with Air New Zealand is committed to providing customers with flexible travel options to and from New Zealand and the updates to the flight schedule reflect this.” Flights will be available to be purchase shortly at www.airnewzealand.co.nz and www.virginaustralia.com.

| An Air New Zealand release  || December 14,  2017   |||

Dec 8, 2017 -  Switzerland’s national pursuit cycling team will make its debut at the 2018 New Zealand Cycle Classic held in the Wairarapa next January. While some of the riders have competed in New Zealand before, this will be the first time the team has competed in the iconic race, the only Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) 2.2 accredited tour staged in New Zealand which has been an annual sporting fixture for the past 30 years. The team will be led by experienced rider Thery Schir, who competed at the 2016 Olympic Games, finished fourth in the Madison at the 2016 World Champs and recorded strong results in the international tour of Portugal and Fleche Du Sud in the Netherlands. The Swiss team will use the NZ Cycle Classic as an important part of their preparation for the 2018 World Track championships, held in Holland in March. Schir is looking forward to visiting and competing in the Wairarapa from January 17th – 21st 2018.

“I am looking forward to exploring a new part of the world with the New Zealand Cycle Classic and hoping to sample some famous Martinborough wine after the tour,” said Schir.

The Swiss team features a who’s who of experienced riders including seasoned professional track and road rider Cyrylle Thiery, who finished fifth in the Tour of Hokkaido in Japan in 2016 and third in the sprints classification. He is the most experienced rider in the team with top places in this year’s tour of Colombia, South Bohemia Tour in the Czech Republic and the Tour of Greece.

Stefan Bissegger is the third member of the team and the 2016 winner of the Driedaagse Van Axel tour and sprints classification in the Netherlands. He is tipped to be an exciting rider to watch during the NZ Cycle Classic’s bunch stage finishes.

The rest of the team are Claudio Imhof, Frank Pasche and Gael Suter, all experienced riders in stage races around Europe.

Swiss team manager and national coach, Ross Machejefski, who is a New Zealander, chose to start the team’s year during a Kiwi summer to prepare his riders for the world championships later in March.

“This tour fits into a one month training block in New Zealand for the team to avoid the harsh Swiss winter! The riders are really looking forward to racing in the New Zealand summer and alongside some of Australasia's best road riders” Machejefski said.

New Zealand Cycle Classic race director Jorge Sandoval is thrilled to have the quality Swiss team make its debut in his event.

“Swiss riders are highly regarded all over the world, to have them here for the first time is a privilege for our event - they may be the Swiss “Track” team but I know how experienced they are in stage races, having seen their results and participation over the last few years in many stages races around the globe, they are coming here to do well and should be a strong team to beat,” said Sandoval.

The New Zealand Cycle Classic is recognised as the premier international road cycling event in this country and has developed a reputation for unearthing new talent, with many of the riders having gone on to win stages in the Tour de France, the Tour of Italy and world championship titles. In 2018 it will be held in the Wairarapa from January 17th – 21st with more riders coming from around the world. These teams will be announced in the coming weeks as will confirmation about whether 2017 Tour winner Joseph Cooper will defend his title.

The five-stage tour features two new routes that weave through Wairarapa’s rolling country side and will also see the team’s presentation held in a festive evening setting on Tuesday, 16th January in Masterton.

Being held simultaneously, is Huri Huri a series of community based cycling events designed to celebrate the Wairarapa’s bike-friendly roads, tracks and trails; the people that ride on them and the bikes they ride.

These include: an opportunity to explore the historic Castlepoint Station by bike along three different coastal tracks on Saturday, 20th January and a fun, family friendly evening at Mitre 10 Mega Masterton on Tuesday, 16th February. This promotional evening will include a freestyle BMX display; fun cycle obstacle course for children; a free barbecue and a promotional circuit ride for club riders. The elite teams will also ride the same Criterium circuit enabling spectators to get a taste of what exciting, international racing will unfold in the coming days.

DETAILS FOR THE 2018 NEW ZEALAND CYCLE CLASSIC

Teams Official Presentation & Promotional Criterium: Tuesday, 16th January 2018

Mitre 10 Mega Masterton, eveningIncludes teams presentation, Criterium, Huri Huri BMX display, family BBQ

Stage One. Wednesday 17th January 2018122.5kmMasterton – Alfredton - MastertonStage Two. Thursday, 18th January 2018120kmMasterton – Gladstone Circuit – Masterton

Stage Three. Friday, 19th January 2018136kmMasterton - Martinborough

Stage Four. Saturday, 20th January 2018147kmMasterton – Te Wharau – Admiral Hill

Huri Huri eventExplore Castlepoint Station by bike, 20th January 2018

Stage Five. Sunday, 21st January 2018120kmMasterton. Riders complete 12 laps of a 10km circuit.

 | A Destination Wairarapa release  ||  December 8,  2017   |||

Dec 5, 2017  - Auckland Airport advises passengers travelling internationally in December 2017 and January 2018 to allow an extra 30 minutes for their journey through the terminal building.

The top-ten 10 busiest days at Auckland Airport’s international terminal building during this summer peak season are expected to be:

• 21 December 2017
• 22 December 2017
• 23 December 2017
• 4 January 2018
• 5 January 2018
• 6 January 2018 (Busiest)
• 7 January 2018
• 12 January 2018
• 13 January 2018

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  December 5, 2017  |||

Dec 5, 2017  -  Millennials are taking more expensive holidays because they believe saving enough money to buy a house is unrealistic, a travel expert has said. Holiday firm Contiki reported a 10% increase in the average amount of money people aged 18 to 35 are spending on trips this year compared with 2016.

It found that young travellers are taking more adventurous and so-called bucket list trips, with increased year-on-year demand for destinations such as New Zealand (up 83%), South America (up 71%), Bali (up 56%) and Vietnam (up 50%).

With a typical first-time home buyer in the UK aged 30, Contiki sales and marketing director Donna Jeavons has noticed a trend in young people prioritising experiences including travel over getting on the property ladder.

She said: "With housing being so expensive, many young people are opting to live in the moment and pursue other goals first, knowing that buying a house could be a little further down the line than it was for previous generations.

"Saving a bit here and there isn't really scratching the surface for millennials, so many are choosing to have the best holiday they can afford instead."

The average age of Contiki customers is 26 and earlier this year the firm introduced specially themed trips to Canada for "avid Instagrammers".

This was in response to research which showed that a section of the youth market is drawn to destinations from where they can upload popular social media posts.

Several other companies have also started selling products aimed at younger travellers.

U by Uniworld will be Europe's first river cruise brand exclusively for young people when it launches in April 2018 with craft beers, mixology classes, street art tours and vintage motor bike rides.

The firm's chief executive Ellen Bettridge said: "We are targeting an active traveller between the ages of 21 and 45, with everything from the decor, dining and cocktail service to the land activities thoughtfully curated to meet the needs of this audience."

Air France's new subsidiary airline aimed at young people, Joon, began operating from Paris on Friday.

It is "designed for our millennial customers" with features such as the ability to stream movies and television shows using smartphones and tablets, crew uniforms with a "chic sportswear look" and a partnership with travel site Airbnb Experiences.

Dominique Wood, an executive vice president at Air France, said: "With Joon, we have created a young and connected brand that will give the group a new impetus."

| An Evening Standard release  ||  December 5, 2017   |||

Nov 24, 2017  -  New Zealand, which since 1999 has described itself as “100% Pure” in its famous tourism tagline, is battling a rising tide of pollution, with 16 beaches in Auckland reportedly too polluted for swimming and critics blaming intensive livestock farming for making up to 60% of the country’s rivers and lakes unswimmable.

Sixteen Auckland beaches have been given the lowest grading possible, D, on the Auckland Council’s new water quality forecasting system – Safeswim: https://safeswim.org.nz/

Half of those swimming spots are in West Auckland, including popular Piha and Bethells Beach, according to Auckland’s Western Leader newspaper. The most common form of contamination is excrement – animal and human faeces.

The publication quoted an environmentalist who said he’d seen day-trippers defecating in lagoons.

“This happens especially in summer time when the public facilities are quite full, or at times are closed.”

Idyllic but controversial scene in Tourism New Zealand video

Recent Auckland Council reports blamed the problems on faulty septic tanks, along with faecal contamination from dogs, birds, and livestock, the publication said.

Auckland Council plans to invest NZD 6 billion over the next 20 years in wastewater infrastructure.

Meanwhile, cows are being blamed for polluting New Zealand’s waterways. Agricultural runoff, in the form of nitrates, adds to the problem. In an article headlined “Dairy farming is polluting New Zealand’s water”, the Economist magazine said “scrub where sheep once grazed is being given over to intensive dairy farms – some of them irrigated to help the pasture grow”.

The Economist said some 6.6 millon cattle are now “squeezed into the country of 4.7 million people, transforming even an iconic arid grassland, the Mackenzie Basin (made famous by the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films), into a tapestry of emerald fields”.

Waterways play a big part in New Zealand tourism campaigns, such as in the video below:

Greenpeace agriculture campaigner Gen Toop says farms are “overstocked with too many cows and that causes nitrate to leach down through the soil and into our waterways. The only way to have clean rivers and safe drinking water is to have fewer cows.”

Greenpeace advocates regenerative farming, a way of farming with fewer cattle and more diversity.

In August, New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the Tourism New Zealand promotional video (on YouTube above), which includes a scene showing a tourist about to drink river water, did not violate advertising rules.

Not all members of the ASA board agreed.

At one point in the video, a tourist cups her hand in the water and brings it to her mouth as if to drink. The shot cuts away before she does so.

Critics say drinking river water is unsafe in many parts of the country.

| Source: Global Travel Media Written by Peter Needham  ||  November 24, 2017   |||

Nov 23, 2017  -  Air New Zealand is exploring the use of blockchain-based systems within its business, reinforcing its global reputation for innovation and embracing new and emerging technology.  Blockchain is being used globally to build encrypted, shared platforms, providing a secure and efficient way to track the exchange of goods or information. Air New Zealand is looking at a number of potential use cases for the distributed ledger technology including cargo and baggage tracking, retail, distribution and loyalty programme opportunities. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says applications of blockchain are developing rapidly, and the airline is excited by the possibilities. “With its built-in efficiency and security, blockchain has the potential to trigger huge innovation in travel, paving the way for new business models and collaboration.” Air New Zealand is partnering with Swiss travel platform Winding Tree, which is developing the world’s first travel marketplace on blockchain to connect suppliers such as airlines and hotels directly to sellers. “While we are still exploring its benefits, blockchain may offer a streamlined way to retail airfares and ancillary products alongside our current channels. In removing complexity from the sales chain, customers benefit from reduced transactional costs, and airlines benefit from swift and secure sharing of information,” says Mr Golan. Winding Tree Founder and Chief Executive Officer Maksim Izmaylov says Winding Tree is a decentralised alternative to the current travel distribution landscape.   “With a business-to-business marketplace system powering blockchain-based travel booking transactions, startups and companies will be able to gain direct access to travel service providers’ offerings.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Air New Zealand, as it’s an important step in bringing blockchain technology to the travel industry and creating opportunity for innovation,” says Mr Izmaylov.

Air New Zealand has worked with a range of leading technology partners to introduce innovations to enhance the customer experience. These include its artificial intelligence backed chatbot Oscar, who helps customers with queries online and through the Air New Zealand mobile app, and its experiment with the social robot Chip, who assisted customers with check in at Sydney Airport earlier this year. German carrier Lufthansa has also recently announced a partnership with Winding Tree.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  November 23,  2017   |||

Nov 23, 2017  -  Legendary hedge fund manager and multi-billionaire Julian Roberston put together one of the most luxurious golfing vacations in his beloved New Zealand – and we got the inside look writes Elena Holodny for Business Insider US.  On the Tiger Tour, vacationers can see both New Zealand’s North and South Islands over the course of nine nights on Roberston’s three properties: The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, and Matakauri Lodge.

Roberston, 85, a pioneer of the modern hedge fund industry, is best known for founding the investment firm Tiger Management Corp, one of the earliest funds, in 1980. After closing his fund in 2000, many of Robertson’s proteges went on to start some of the world’s largest hedge funds, such as Lone Pine and Viking Global.  His net worth is estimated at $4.1 billion, according to Forbes.

The Tiger Tour is currently going on from November 17-26, 2017, but there’s another tour coming up March 1-10, 2018. The tour is limited to four couples at $28,500 per person, plus taxes, and not including international airfare and other expenses. The first stop is at The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs.

| Continue here to take your own photographic journey of the Tiger Tour ||  November 23,  2017   |||

EU members swapped personalities

Nov 21, 2017  -  In the years since Britain and France teamed up together in the Common Market both these unlikely partners appear to have undergone a national character transfer switch, a transposition, writes our travel editor Peter Isaac.

The British have become pushy, brittle and quick tempered while the French have absorbed those once British values of tolerance, stoicism, and good humour.

Emirates has unveiled the first aircraft in its fleet with a new livery dedicated to Expo 2020 Dubai. The decal was installed on A6-EPK, an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, at the Emirates Engineering hangar.

The unique and striking livery is based on the Expo 2020 logo inspired by an ancient gold ring excavated in Dubai and it underlines Emirates’ support for the vision of Expo 2020 Dubai. Emirates is the Official Airline Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Emirates operates daily A380 services from Auckland and Christchurch to Dubai and beyond and the decals will be seen in New Zealand over time as Emirates will dedicate a total of 40 aircraft from its fleet, both Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, to be emblazoned with the dedicated Expo 2020 decals; starting in 2017 through to the end of Expo 2020 Dubai. In addition, all aircraft in Emirates’ fleet will also carry a new Expo 2020 nose decal.

Emirates will be installing three different decal designs to reflect the different themes of Expo 2020 – namely, opportunity, mobility and sustainability. The theme of the first decal installed was ‘mobility’ which also relates to Emirates’ role as a connector of people, places and opportunities, as the airline links over 150 destinations in 84 countries to, from, and via its hub in Dubai. The main theme of Expo 2020 Dubai also revolves around ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said: “Expo 2020 Dubai will be an important platform facilitating a global exchange of ideas, collaborations and partnerships across a range of industries and domains. Emirates is gearing up for this landmark occasion and championing the vision of ‘Connecting Minds and Creating the Future’ through the new Expo 2020 decals that will be installed on our aircraft.”

The Expo 2020 decal installed by the Emirates Aircraft Appearance Centre is one of the largest decals to be applied on an Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft. It is also the first time that the surface area on top of the aircraft has been covered by a decal. The Expo decal applied on the Boeing 777 covers over 40% of the aircraft fuselage surface area. The design spans over 37.8 metres in length and 12 metres in width. The decal was designed, printed and installed by Emirates’ in-house graphic shop team. It took a team of six staff over 84 hours to complete the decal installation.

The Emirates Aircraft Appearance Centre has installed a number of eye-catching decals on Emirates’ aircraft over the years including the majestic ‘United for Wildlife’ decals and a number of customised decals celebrating Emirates’ football partnerships and a global love for sports.

| AN EMIRATES RELEASE  ||  NOVEMBER 2,  2017   |||

Air New Zealand will fly daily to Houston for most of next winter as demand for travel between New Zealand and Texas continues to soar. Air New Zealand currently operates five services per week to Houston year-round. From 25 March to 27 October 2018 it will increase to a mix of daily services and six services per week, a capacity increase of 16,000 seats on the route over this period. The airline will deploy its newly configured 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on Auckland-Houston from December 2017, the first time the Dreamliner will regularly service one of Air New Zealand’s North American routes. Air New Zealand’s Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace says the airline has steadily grown its Houston operations since it commenced services there in 2015 and it’s fantastic to see strong demand from both ends of the route. “A strategic gateway into America’s south, Houston is unlocking huge demand for travel to New Zealand from across the South, Mid-west and Mid-Atlantic regions, with annual visitor arrivals up 21 percent from Texas and 25 percent from New York. “As a transit hub, Houston also offers Kiwi travellers better onward connections to popular East Coast destinations like New York, Boston and Miami.” The newly configurated 787 offers more premium seating for customers, with 27 Business Premier seats – up from 18 on the existing Air New Zealand Dreamliner, and 33 Premium Economy seats, up from 21. Air New Zealand also offers its popular Economy Skycouch™ alongside the Premium Economy and Business Premier options on services to Houston. Air New Zealand recently launched its global marketing campaign A Better Way to Fly in North America, using a CGI kiwi named Pete in a bid to convince more Americans and Canadians to travel with the airline to New Zealand and Australia.

| An Air New Zealand release  ||  October 11,  2017   |||