AIA July 2017 – Monthly Traffic Update

July 2017 Monthly traffic update 8.4% International passengers (excluding transits) were up by 8.4% at Auckland Airport in July 2017, compared to July 2016. The 67,000 passenger increase was driven by growth on Asia/Middle East (+26.8%), Tasman (+4%) and Pacific routes (+4.5%). The Americas experienced a slight decline (-3.3%) due to seasonal capacity reduction on United Airlines' San Francisco route. The Pacific and Tasman routes were both boosted by school holiday and Lion's Tour traffic while Asia/Middle East growth was driven by new airline routes serving China, Hong Kong and Qatar as well as increased capacity on the direct Dubai service. 180,218 Auckland Airport's international visitor arrivals increased by 5% to 180,218 in July 2017, compared to July 2016. The increase was driven by business and convention travellers (+19.9%) and VFR - visiting friends and relatives - arrivals (+8.3%). Strong growth in daily Middle Eastern seat capacity (+179%), due to the new Qatar Airways Doha service and Emirates' changing its direct Dubai service to an A380, helped deliver a 24.2% increase in European visitors in July 2017, with the largest visitor increases coming from the United Kingdom (+36.2%), France (+29.8%) and Spain (+26.3%). 8.9% New Zealand resident arrivals were up 8.9%, or 20,509 passengers, at Auckland Airport in July 2017 due to strong holiday and business/convention travel. More than 250,000 overseas trips were taken by New Zealanders in July 2017, with Australia, Fiji and the Cook Islands the most popular short-haul destinations. The United Kingdom, United States and China were the most popular long-haul destinations, followed closely by Thailand and Indonesia. 10.8% Auckland Airport's Chinese visitor arrivals were up 10.8% compared to July 2016. The growth was driven by increasing numbers of very short-stay (1-3 days) and longer stay visitors (8 days or longer). Pleasingly, the return to growth in Chinese visitor arrivals was driven by a larger aircraft on Air China's Beijing service, new routes between Auckland and Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chengdu, and one-stop travel on Hong Kong Airlines' new service. AA In June 2016, American Airlines introduced a daily B787-800 Dreamliner service between Auckland and Los Angeles. From October 2017, this service will upgauge to a B787-900 aircraft, adding 826 seats every week. However, the service will be suspended in April 2018 and will recommence as a seasonal service in October 2018. See full report in attached pdf. End CA:00306396 For:AIA Type:GENERAL Time:2017-08-30 09:36:11