Jetstar launches new routes boosting New Zealand flights

Jetstar has unveiled their single-biggest expansion ever of its New Zealand and trans-Tasman network with the launch of two new routes and additional capacity on five existing routes – creating a total of more than 660,000 new seats a year. 

In time for next year’s ski season, Jetstar will launch seasonal Brisbane - Queenstown flights. They will fly three times weekly between June and October, creating over 17,000 new seats for the 2026 winter season.

The airline will also launch daily flights from Christchurch to Hamilton creating 135,000 new seats per year starting from December 1st this year. The flights will be in direct competition with national airline, Air New Zealand, that will introduce it’s A320s on the route from September 18th. The flight is one hour and 15 minutes, arriving in Hamilton at 9.25am and departing for Christchurch at 10am.

One of Jetstar’s Airbus A320 jets | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren

Jetstar will also add over 500,000 seats on five of its most popular existing domestic and trans-tasman routes.

• Auckland to Christchurch will see an increase from up to eight flights daily to up to 11 daily.

• Auckland and Brisbane will increase from up to ten per week to twice daily.

• Flights from Auckland to Sydney will go from up to eight per week to up to 12 per week.

• Christchurch to Melbourne flights will get increased to daily year-round.

• Flights between Auckland and Dunedin will change from seven per week to up to 10 per week, during the busy summer travel period.

To support these capacity increases, Jetstar will base an extra Airbus A320 aircraft in New Zealand, bringing their NZ based fleet to nine.

Jetstar Group CEO, Stephanie Tully, said these changes will lift Jetstar’s total NZ domestic capacity by 18 per cent, and 14 per cent across the Tasman.