Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand will add more than 165 000 seats annually to the Singapore-Auckland route with the joint launch of a third daily flight from October 28, 2018. The additional flight will boost capacity by more than 40%, while a revision of current schedules is set to shorten connection times and improve connectivity for passengers travelling through Singapore. Both the new joint service and revised flight schedules are subject to regulatory approval. The new service will operate daily from October 28 to March 30, 2019, and five times a week from March 31, 2019 to October 26, 2019. Since entering into a joint venture alliance in January 2015, the airlines have operated a daily return service each on the SIN-AKL route. The third flight will be operated by SQ during the northern winter season and by NZ for the northern summer season. Thirty-five return services weekly between Singapore and New Zealand, including Christchurch and Wellington flights, will be jointly operated by both airlines during the peak months. SQ will operate a mix of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777-300ERs, depending on the season. NZ will offer more Premium Economy and Business Premier seats on the route with its new B787-9 aircraft. On the daily third service, SQ/NZ281 will depart SIN at 08h45 and arrive in AKL at 23h35. The return flight, SQ/NZ282 will depart AKL at 01h20 and arrive in SIN at 06h45. Tickets for the new service will be available from today (December 8, 2017) for sale progressively through the various distribution channels.
