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Air NZ posts passenger growth, capacity expansion in March amid new aircraft arrivals
May 6th 2026
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) flew 1.62 million passengers across its domestic and international networks in March, up 4.3% from 1.55 million in the same month last year. Read More » Capacity, or available seat kilometres (ASK) increased 4.1% year-on-year. The Star Alliance said demand, or revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), improved 8.3% in the month. With demand rising faster than capacity, passenger load factor was 3.3 percentage points higher at 85.8%. "Long-haul ASKs rose 2.5%, while domestic capacity grew 3.4%, supported by two additional A321 aircraft in operation compared to March last year, when they were parked," Air NZ said in a regulatory filing. "Short-haul international capacity increased 7.6%, driven by the introduction of two new A321 aircraft."
