Air New Zealand Adds Shanghai Flights: Plan Chinese New Year Trips

Air New Zealand will add three extra round trips a week between Auckland and Shanghai from January 23 to February 20, 2027, lifting the route from seven to ten weekly flights over Chinese New Year. The airline said on September 30 that the extra flights add more than 7,000 seats during the peak of New Zealand’s summer.

If you are planning a New Zealand trip in late January or February, or a stopover in China on the way, the extra flights give you more choice of days, but expect busy flights and full hotels in Auckland around the holiday. Book early through Air New Zealand, according to Air New Zealand’s announcement, which said the boost runs for four weeks around the festival.

If you are still shaping your route around the country, our 10 day New Zealand itinerary compares the North and South Islands.

Air New Zealand Shanghai Schedule for Chinese New Year

The three extra weekly return services sit on top of Air New Zealand’s daily Auckland to Shanghai flight, giving ten flights a week in each direction for the four week period. The airline did not publish times or aircraft for the added flights in its announcement, so check the schedule on its website before you book.

Scott Wilkinson, Air New Zealand’s chief commercial officer, said the airline is being deliberate about where it adds capacity, and that Shanghai at this time of year is a fantastic opportunity. The airline said the flights will carry Chinese visitors to New Zealand during the summer high season, give New Zealand exporters more cargo space into China, and offer more return options for New Zealanders traveling to China.

The extra flights were also reported by AeroTime, which noted the more than 7,000 additional seats across the period.

Connecting to China With Air China

Air New Zealand works with Air China, and the two airlines together operate up to 24 weekly flights between New Zealand and China in the peak season, covering Shanghai and Beijing. Through Air China’s domestic network, Air New Zealand said travelers can reach more than 30 destinations in China on a single trip.

For travelers from North America, that means a China stopover can be built into a New Zealand trip, or the reverse. Check how your ticket handles bags and connections if it combines both airlines, and allow extra time for transfers in Shanghai around the holiday, when airports and trains across China are at their busiest.

Planning Around the Holiday Peak

Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027, and the weeks around it are among the busiest of the year for travel to and from China. Fares on the Auckland route can rise sharply close to the holiday, so if your dates are fixed, compare prices on the extra weekly days and on dates just outside the peak.

The same weeks are also high season in New Zealand, when popular areas such as Queenstown, Rotorua and the Bay of Islands fill up with summer visitors. Book rental cars, ferries and accommodation along with your flights, and note that Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s national day, falls on February 6, the same day as the Lunar New Year in 2027, with the public holiday observed on Monday, February 8.

Check entry rules before you fly. Many visitors to New Zealand, including citizens of visa waiver countries such as the United States, need a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority before travel. Rules for China depend on your passport and whether you are transiting or staying, so confirm the current visa or visa free transit options for your nationality well ahead of the trip.

More Air New Zealand Flight News

Air New Zealand is adding routes across the region, as we reported in our story on its Christchurch to Singapore flights and in our story on its return to Hobart.