Updated 24 September 2026
Air New Zealand expects to carry around 850,000 customers across its domestic and international networks over the school holidays. The busiest domestic day is expected to be the first Friday of the break.
The airline says more than 520,000 people will fly within New Zealand between 24 September and 11 October. Almost 330,000 will travel overseas.
Queenstown, Sydney and Rarotonga are among the most popular destinations.
For travellers, the message is practical: flights will be full, overhead lockers will be tight, and the Fridays across the break are the days to plan around.
The numbers at a glance
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total customers, 24 Sept to 11 Oct | About 850,000 |
| Domestic travel | More than 520,000 |
| International travel | Almost 330,000 |
| Busiest domestic day, Friday 25 Sept | More than 33,000 |
| Friday 2 October | More than 32,000 |
| Friday 9 October | More than 32,000 |
These are Air New Zealand's forecasts based on bookings, not final passenger counts. Actual numbers can shift with late bookings, weather and disruptions.
Why the Fridays matter
The biggest domestic day comes at the very start of the holidays, as families leave when school finishes.
The pressure doesn't ease much after that. Each of the next two Fridays is expected to carry more than 32,000 domestic customers, only slightly below the opening day.
Travellers with flexible plans may find midweek flights less crowded. The airline has not published figures for quieter days, though.
More seats on the busiest routes
Air New Zealand has added capacity on several popular routes compared with the same holiday period last year.
| Route | Extra seats vs last year |
|---|---|
| Auckland - Sydney | +23% |
| Auckland - Brisbane | +12% |
| Auckland - Queenstown | +10% |
The airline has not said how many extra seats this adds up to in total, or whether the added capacity has affected fares.
Where people are heading
| Region | Expected customers | Most popular |
|---|---|---|
| South Island holiday spots | Close to 150,000 | Queenstown, Nelson, Dunedin |
| Australia | More than 170,000 | Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne |
| Pacific Islands | More than 50,000 | Rarotonga, Nadi, Apia |
| Long haul | Not stated | Singapore, Japan, Los Angeles |
Australia is the biggest single draw. More than half of all international travellers over the break are heading across the Tasman.
That demand continues after the holidays. The Bledisloe Cup is in Sydney on 17 October, and Air New Zealand has added nearly 1,000 seats for that weekend, including two extra return services between Auckland and Sydney.
What the airline says
Kate Boyer, Air New Zealand's Chief Operations Officer for Ground and Inflight, says the holidays bring a wide mix of travellers onto the network at once, from families to children flying alone to see grandparents.
"Behind the scenes, thousands of our people will be working across the network to keep everything moving," she said.
Boyer says teams have spent weeks preparing, and the goal is to maintain the airline's "recent strong on time performance" through the busy period.
The release does not include the on-time figures it refers to.
Check your bags before you leave home
With flights expected to be full, the airline is asking customers to check their cabin baggage allowance before they travel.
Economy customers' main carry-on bag must be within 7kg. Anyone carrying more is advised to book checked baggage in advance.
"Overhead locker space can be pretty tight on busy flights," Boyer said. Sorting it out before you travel avoids having to repack at the airport.
Something for the kids
The Kia Ora Kids activity magazine returns onboard for young travellers.
For children staying home, the airline's free Plane Spotter's Guide is back. It helps children identify aircraft flying overhead using simple visual clues rather than technical knowledge.
| Look for | Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Wedge-shaped tail tip | Boeing 777, the largest in the fleet |
| Cone-shaped tail tip | Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner |
| Fins on the wing tips, called sharklets | Airbus A320 or A321 |
| Wheels tucked into the body | ATR turboprop |
| Wheels stowed in the wings | Q300, the smallest in the fleet |
A bonus challenge asks children to spot a plane in the black livery and work out which type it is. The guide can be downloaded from the Air New Zealand website.
What to watch
The scale of the forecast is the story. About 850,000 customers over roughly two and a half weeks is a heavy load for any network, particularly with three Friday peaks close together.
Added seats on the Sydney, Brisbane and Queenstown routes should ease some of the pressure. The real test is whether the airline keeps flights running on time when the network is at its fullest.
Travellers will know how that went by 11 October.
Correction: An earlier version of this article reported passenger figures that Air New Zealand has since corrected. The airline now expects about 850,000 customers, not 350,000, and the domestic, international, busiest-day and destination figures have been updated. The travel window has also been corrected to 24 September to 11 October.
Source: Air New Zealand.
