AIA Monthly Traffic Update – March 2018

March 2018 Monthly traffic update 8.9% - International passengers (excluding transit passengers) increased by 8.9% to 909,413 in March 2018. The 74,000 increase, compared with March 2017, was due to both the Easter holiday period starting in late-March this year, compared to mid-April in 2017 and strong capacity growth on the Asia and Middle East (+24,000 seats), Americas (+14,000 seats) and the Pacific Islands (+14,000 seats) routes. North America - Air New Zealand will launch a new three flights per week service between Auckland and Chicago, commencing November 2018 and providing more than 85,000 seats on the new route. United Airlines has also announced that it will extend its seasonal service between Auckland and San Francisco to year-round, operating a B777-200 aircraft three times per week during the northern summer season from April 2019. Tasman - Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have both announced increases in their trans-Tasman capacity, following the decision to end their alliance. From December 2018, Air New Zealand will be adding 15% capacity on its Auckland services and Virgin Australia will increase frequency, up to triple daily on Sydney and up to double daily on both Melbourne and Brisbane. PR Manila - Philippine Airlines has announced that it will upgrade the aircraft used on its Auckland service from June 2018. The change to the new, three-class A330 aircraft will increase the overall route capacity by 22%. End CA:00317248 For:AIA Type:GENERAL Time:2018-04-27 08:59:45