SOUTHERN FLIGHTS

AIR New Zealand will be flying to Queenstown and Invercargill when the nation enters Level 2, but there will not be cheap deals or the variety of routes that were on offer preCovid19.

There is no change to Dunedin flights, and only the existing service to Christchurch will be offered.

In a statement last night, Air NZ chief executive officer Greg Foran said the national carrier planned to operate about 20% of its usual domestic capacity during Level 2 and would fly to most of its domestic airports.

‘‘Alert Level 2 will see the return of flying to the likes of Queenstown, Invercargill and Blenheim in the South Island and Rotorua, Gisborne, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Whangarei and Kerikeri in the north,’’ Mr Foran said.

‘‘This comes on top of current flights to support essential service travel between Auckland and Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga and Napier, as well as between WellingtonChristchurch, WellingtonNelson and ChristchurchDunedin.’’

Mr Foran said the airline wanted to begin its domestic air services as soon as it could to support New Zealand’s economic recovery and connect family, friends and businesses.

‘‘But the rampup to higher frequencies will be a slow journey and even when we come out of Alert Level 1, all of our domestic destinations will see fewer flights and reduced frequencies,’’ he said.

During Alert Level 2 the airline would not be able to offer its normal cheapest leadin fares, he said.

‘‘Onemetre social distancing means we can only sell just under 50% of seats on a turboprop aircraft and just 65% on an A320. On that basis, to ensure we cover our operating costs, we won’t be able to offer our lowest lead in fares until social distancing measures are removed.’’