Guangzhou based, China Southern will commence services to Auckland from March 27th, 2011. It will operate the route thrice-weekly as an extension of its existing service to Melbourne, which it serves on a daily basis from Guangzhou. China Southern also serves Brisbane on a daily basis, and Sydney on a double daily basis.
China Southern will operate the route with A330-300 equipment and whilst there is no non-stop service from Guangzhou to Auckland, a number of carriers operate the route from Melbourne to Auckland. Virgin Blue serves the Melbourne to Auckland sector daily, Emirates operates a daily extension of its Dubai originating service, Jetstar daily, with Air New Zealand operating 17 times weekly and Qantas over twenty weekly flights. China Southern has managed to secure fifth freedom access for the Melbourne to Auckland sector and will become the latest operator on this route.
CHINA TO NEW ZEALAND TRAFFIC FLOWS
IATA BSP data illustrates that traffic flows between Guangzhou and Auckland are relatively thin with just over 8,000 O+D passengers travelling between September 2009 and September 2010, Cathay Pacific currently has over 40% of this traffic via Hong Kong.
The wider China to New Zealand market shows that over 194,000 O+D passengers travelled between the two countries between September 2009 and September 2010. The table below shows the traffic by carrier share.
|
Carrier |
Passenger Number (Two-Way September 2009-2010) |
Market Share |
|
Air New Zealand |
117,950 |
61% |
|
Cathay Pacific |
36, 234 |
19% |
|
Singapore Airlines |
14,341 |
7% |
|
Korean Air |
7,947 |
4% |
|
China Southern |
6,623 |
3% |
|
Others |
11,662 |
6% |
|
Total |
194,766 |
100% |
Source IATA BSP data (September 2009-2010)
Star Alliance member Air New Zealand currently operates two services from Auckland to China. It has a twice-weekly rotation to Beijing with B777-200 and a thrice-weekly service into Shanghai also operated with B777-200 equipment.
Demand is growing for service between China and New Zealand illustrated by the fact that between September 2008 and September 2009 174,000 O+D passengers flew between the two countries, a growth of 11% The introduction of a new service will aim to satisfy the growing demand and further stimulate the market.
China Southern will be able to provide shorter connections to many chinese points given Guangzhou is southern most hub in China.
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