Air New Zealand will start flights to the Philippines from December, further expanding its Pacific Rim network. The year-round service between Auckland and Manila will operate three times a week using Boeing 767-300 aircraft with a flight time of about 10 and a half hours each way.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said the airline expected the service to be popular at both ends of the route. Air New Zealand will add the Philippines to its network in December flying a Boeing 767-300 between Auckland and Manila three times a week, year-round. Air New Zealand’s Philippine service is the second South East Asian destination the national carrier has launched flights to in recent months. It announced in November it would fly three times a week from Auckland to Vietnam from June to October.
Luxon said the Filipino population in New Zealand had more than tripled since 2001 and was the third largest Asian ethnic group, with about 40,000 Filipino residents in New Zealand. “The number of visitors from the Philippines is also continuing to grow rapidly, up more than 20 per cent in the past year alone so we’re anticipating that demand for this service will be steady in both directions,” Luxon said. The addition of Manila brings the total number of Air New Zealand’s international destinations to 32.
Air New Zealand did not say how much airfares would be, with tickets going on sale mid-year subject to government and regulatory approvals. Auckland Airport’s aeronautical commercial general manager Norris Carter said visitors to New Zealand from the Philippines increased 19 per cent each year for the past three years, and New Zealanders visiting the Philippines had been growing at 10 per cent each year over the same period. The airport estimates the service will result in an additional 71,800 seats between New Zealand and the Philippines each year contributing $29 million in annual tourism spend to the New Zealand economy, he said.
Flight Centre NZ product general manager Sean Berenson​ said traditionally Thailand and Bali were key holiday spots for New Zealanders, but the Philippines had been growing in recent years. The Philippines is an archipelago made up of more than 7000 islands. “It’s a real hidden gem,” Berenson said. House of Travel commercial director Brent Thomas said the new service would stimulate demand for South East Asia travel. South East Asia was the fastest growing market for outbound traffic from New Zealand, he said. “It’s bringing increased capacity and giving choice which is going to see that the growth continues and at an even faster pace then it has over the past 12 months,” Thomas said. The destination would appeal to business travellers and holiday makers including couples and families, he said. “It’s a country with such variety. That’s something that’s going to have to be educated to the New Zealand public because I don’t think they realise the diversity.”