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Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand expand joint network capacity and connectivity in Northern Winter 2026 season
May 29th 2026
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that they will expand their joint network between New Zealand and Singapore for the Northern Winter 2026 season (25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027), increasing overall capacity into Auckland and introducing new non-stop flights into Christchurch on Air New Zealand to complement SIA’s existing services. Read More » Last week, Air NZ announced that during the 2026 Northern Winter season, it will resume three weekly services on the Christchurch-Singapore route, operated by Boeing 787 aircraft. Combined with SIA’s existing Christchurch operations of up to 12 weekly services, the two airlines will operate 15 weekly services during the peak months from November 2026 to February 2027. Air New Zealand will also add four weekly Auckland services using both its Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft. SIA will adjust its schedule from three daily flights to two, and will deploy the Airbus A380 equipped with 471 seats in four cabin classes – six in Suites, 78 in Business Class, 44 in Premium Economy Class, on daily services SQ285 and SQ286 during the 2026 Northern Winter season, instead of the Boeing 777-300ER. The A380 will meet demand for travel between New Zealand and Singapore, as well as for key markets beyond Singapore in the SIA network, SIA said.
With these adjustments, the Air New Zealand-SIA alliance will increase overall seat capacity between Singapore and New Zealand by 17% from late October 2026, adding 72,000 seats and bringing the total seat count to more than 490,000 seats during the 2026 Northern Winter season. “Our partnership with Singapore Airlines plays a critical role in connecting the world to New Zealand and vice versa. This Northern Winter expansion gives our customers even more travel options, whether they are visiting New Zealand for business, leisure, or to reconnect with friends and family. Through Singapore’s position as a leading global hub, travelers can access New Zealand from across Southeast Asia, India, the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond. The introduction of Air New Zealand’s Christchurch services is especially exciting because it creates more options for visitors to access some of New Zealand’s most popular destinations in the South Island, while remaining fully connected to Singapore Airlines’ extensive global network,” Air NZ Chief Operations and Alliances Officer Mr Michael Williams said. “Our long-standing partnership with Air New Zealand serves the strong demand for travel between New Zealand and Singapore, as well as onward to key destinations across our global network. The deployment of the Airbus A380, with its greater seat capacity and enhanced travel experience, to Auckland, reflects our commitment to this important market. This complements the additional capacity that Air New Zealand is adding to bolster our joint network,” Dai Haoyu, Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, Singapore Airlines, commented.
