Summary
- Various foreign carriers are using fifth freedom rights to fly between Australia and New Zealand for extra passengers and revenue.
- Emirates A380 service to Christchurch disappeared in favor of a codeshare with Qantas for trans-Tasman flights.
- Other carriers like LATAM, China Airlines, China Eastern, and Batik Air Malaysia are operating between the two countries.
Travel between Australia and New Zealand is unique, with several international services operated between the two countries by not just local carriers but also foreign airlines. This agreement has enticed several foreign carriers to optimize a ‘fifth freedom of the air’ to allow them to add extra passengers and revenue, either just across the Tasman or further afield into the airline’s wider network.
Technically speaking, there is an open skies agreement between Australia and New Zealand. However, no foreign airlines have yet to set up a base in either country and start operating a strange but unique network down under (much like Ryanair’s take-over in Europe).
Photo: Airbus
One of the most identifiable trans-Tasman oddities on our list today will be the double-decker big bird of Emirates, the only Airbus A380 service to Christchurch, the South Island of New Zealand’s largest city. This service used to be one of just four Airbus A380 trans-Tasman services operated by the Dubai-based carrier trans-Tasman. Before the pandemic, the airline operated directly from all of Australia’s major east coast cities, including Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, to Auckland, complementing the Christchurch service. This unique Emirates network trans-Tasman has long since disappeared in favor of an extensive codeshare agreement with Qantas, which feeds its Auckland to Australia services, while the carrier maintains a non-stop A380 service from Auckland to Dubai.
However, several other carriers, including LATAM, China Airlines, Batik Air Malaysia, and China Eastern, are reaping the benefits of operating between the two countries. Let’s explore their details below.
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1
China Airlines
Brisbane (BNE) to Auckland (AKL)
This Skyteam member operates from its base at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Auckland via Brisbane. The connection is served up to four times a week this May and operates from Brisbane at 12:55, touching down in Auckland at 18:00 after an average flight time of 2hr 45mins. The return service departs from the City of Sails (Auckland) at 19:30 and arrives in Brisbane at 21:20, which takes three hours and 20 minutes. The route is served with the airline’s new Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Historically, China Airlines also operated other services from Melbourne and Sydney to Auckland and Christchurch; however, these are not expected to resume anytime soon.
2
LATAM
Sydney (SYD) to Auckland (AKL)
Some South American flair treats Sydney to Auckland travelers daily. Santiago-based LATAM operates Santiago Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) to Auckland and onwards to Sydney with its Boeing 787-9, which can seat 30 business class passengers and 273 in economy. The airline recently hit the headlines on the route when a flight suddenly dropped mid-flight, leading to over 50 passengers being injured. Read more about the incident here.
For the service, LATAM follows the below schedule on the route:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure time |
Arrival time |
---|---|---|---|---|
LA801 |
Auckland |
Sydney |
07:30 |
09:35 |
LA800 |
Sydney |
Auckland |
11:35 |
16:40 |
3
China Eastern
Sydney (SYD) to Auckland (AKL)
From Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH), China Eastern operates a triangular from China’s Zhejiang province. It operates Hangzhou-Sydney-Auckland-Hangzhou and in opposite directions on different days of the week with an Airbus A330-200. Looking more closely at its trans-Tasman services in May, the schedule looks like:
-
MU711
- Operating on Wednesday and Sunday, departing Sydney at 13:15 and arriving in Auckland at 18:30. Flight time of two hours 40 minutes.
-
MU712
- Connecting Auckland to Sydney on Monday and Friday, China Eastern departs Auckland at 10:40 and arrives in Sydney at 12:10. The flight time is just three hours.
4
Emirates
Sydney (SYD) to Christchurch (CHC)
The sole South Island service featured in this list, Emirates, connects Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Sydney and then Christchurch. After the post-pandemic thaw, Emirates was the first carrier to relaunch the Airbus A380 to New Zealand, where it landed in Christchurch. While Emirates now also deploys its double-decker to Auckland directly, South Island passengers can travel in first class between Christchurch to Sydney and back in the only regular widebody scheduled service trans-Tasman from the South Island.
Emirates operates the route daily and follows the below schedule:
Flight number |
From |
To |
Departure time |
Arrival time |
---|---|---|---|---|
EK412 |
Sydney |
Christchurch |
07:50 |
12:55 |
EK413 |
Sydney |
Auckland |
17:45 |
19:05 |
5
Batik Air Malaysia
Perth (PER) to Auckland (AKL)
Batik Air Malaysia is a newcomer to the market. It recently launched its Kuala Lumpur—Perth—Auckland service. The Perth-Auckland route caters to the demand of the 85,000 New Zealanders living in Western Australia. Flight time from Malaysia to New Zealand is over 12 hours, longer than London-Johannesburg and New York JFK-Tel Aviv in distance on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The carrier faces direct competition with Air New Zealand, which deploys its Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Once called Malindo Air, the full-service arm of Indonesian carrier Lion Air operates this route six times a week, to the below schedule:
-
OD195
- Departing Perth at 18:10 and arriving in Auckland at 04:45. Flight time of six hours.
-
OD196
- Leaves Auckland at 06:30, traveling for almost seven and a half hours before touching down in Perth, Western Australia, at 10:10.
Qatar Airways, AirAsia X, and Philippine Airlines are another three airlines that are just a selection of airlines that also used to feature in this ‘trans-Tasman oddities’ list, with each of the airlines adjusting their networks due to market demand. Further details below:
-
Qatar Airways
- Due to a decline in demand during the pandemic, Qatar operated a Doha- Adelaide-Auckland routing. This service was quickly upscaled to direct Doha-bound services shortly after the global border and travel restrictions were lifted.
-
AirAsia X
- Most recently, the Malaysian low-cost carrier flew between Kuala Lumpur-Sydney-Auckland and Kuala Lumpur-Gold Coast-Auckland. The New Zealand addition was abruptly axed after the airline cited weakened passenger demand.
-
Philippine Airlines
- Once operating between Manila-Cairns-Auckland, this distinct trans-Tasman service meant the Manila-based carrier could deploy its narrowbody all the way to New Zealand using this routing. The service was quickly upgraded to a direct service on a widebody aircraft. However, this was axed before the pandemic.
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