Travel between Auckland and Melbourne is set to become easier this summer with the launch of a new seasonal service by China Airlines.

Starting in December, the airline will operate five flights a week between Auckland and Melbourne, extending onwards to Taipei.

Auckland Airport Chief Customer Officer Scott Tasker highlighted the importance of this new service, noting that seat capacity between Auckland and Melbourne is still at 75% of pre-pandemic levels.

“Melbourne is our second biggest trans-Tasman market with around 1,000 people flying between Auckland and Melbourne every day,” Tasker said.

“Unfortunately, the flights haven’t been there to meet the demand and that’s been reflected in airfares that are well up on what we were paying pre-pandemic.”

The new China Airlines service aims to address this gap, providing Kiwi travellers with more options for visiting Melbourne's cultural, sporting, and shopping attractions.

The service is also expected to alleviate current pressure on airfares, which have been significantly higher due to limited flight availability.

China Airlines currently operates a Taipei-Brisbane-Auckland service five times a week and plans to increase this to six flights per week during the summer.

The airline has maintained a presence in New Zealand throughout the pandemic, even running freight-only passenger aircraft to support trade links.

Taiwan is New Zealand’s fifth-largest air export market, with fresh produce such as cherries being particularly popular among Taiwanese consumers.

Tasker pointed out that the additional flight capacity during the summer months is timely for local growers.

“Taiwan is our number one cherry export market, so this additional capacity across the summer months is perfectly timed for our local growers to get their product into that market in top condition.”

The new Auckland-Melbourne service will operate on an A350-900 aircraft, which features 306 seats, including 32 flat-bed business class seats, 31 premium economy seats, and 243 economy class seats.

The outbound flight CI058 will depart Auckland at 9:05 pm and arrive in Melbourne at 10:55 pm local time, while the return flight CI057 will depart Melbourne at 1:40 pm local time and arrive in Auckland at 7:05 pm.

The service will run every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, subject to government approval.

China Airlines, a SkyTeam alliance member and a Skytrax 4-star airline, has a long history of connecting Auckland to Taiwan.

Tasker noted, “China Airlines were also one of the carriers that continued flying to New Zealand through the pandemic, including regular freight-only passenger aircraft keeping our trade links up and running.”

In addition to benefiting exporters, the new service is expected to strengthen ties between the local Taiwanese population in Auckland and their friends and relatives back home.

Taiwan is New Zealand’s 12th largest inbound visitor market, driven in part by these visiting friends and relatives (VFR) connections.

The enhanced connectivity offered by China Airlines is a welcome development for both leisure travellers and the local economy, promising to make trans-Tasman travel more accessible and affordable this summer.