The move comes on top of Air New Zealand's announcement on Wednesday that it was slashing fares on its Night Rider service between Auckland and Wellington to just $9 each way over Queen's Birthday weekend.
Air New Zealand Group General Manager New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Cam Wallace, says this week's announcements are just part of a series of initiatives that will encourage more Kiwis than ever to travel on the national airline.
"Kiwis are loving how we are making travel more affordable than ever on our domestic and international services. Already this year we’ve offered destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka and Honolulu for $399 or less one way and customers can expect to see more ludicrous deals like these popping up."
Mr Wallace says the 100,000 additional grabaseat fares will be offered right across Air New Zealand’s domestic network and are the result of the airline continuing to invest in new state of the art aircraft.
In recognition of the greater availability of cheaper airfares and the fact customers prefer to be able to purchase confirmed seats at great prices, Air New Zealand will stop offering domestic Standby fares from 6 May 2013.
“Air New Zealand is committed to helping grow our nation’s economy. The purchase of seven new generation ATR 72-600 aircraft for Air New Zealand’s Mt Cook fleet will add up to two million additional regional seats into the market. Further domestic capacity is also being added with the transition of the jet fleet from B737-300 aircraft to larger capacity A320s,” Mr Wallace says.
“The arrival and entry into service of the first two ATR aircraft alongside the four A320 aircraft already servicing our domestic routes means Kiwi travellers can now reap the benefits through more ludicrously cheap fares.”
