Carry on: Aussie airlines fill Cooks gap

Virgin Australia is filling the gap for South Islanders wanting winter holidays in the Cook Islands.

The airline will restore a Christchurch-Rarotonga non-stop flight for nearly four months next year.

The Boeing 737-800 service will run every Saturday for 16 weeks from June 25 to October 8, 2016.

“This definitely is fantastic news for people in the South Island looking for a winter getaway,” says Graeme West, general manager of Cook Islands Tourism Corporation.

“There hasn’t been a non-stop service from Christchurch to Rarotonga for many years but we have had travellers and travel agents constantly asking when there will be one.”

Meanwhile, Jetstar is launching a new Cooks Islands service in March, with flights from Sydney and Melbourne transiting through Auckland.

In more route news, Air New Zealand [NZX: AIR] will upgrade its seasonal Auckland-Cairns route with a Boeing 777-200ER from July 1 to October 9 next year instead of a B767-300ER.

Dreamliner build rate rises
Boeing will step up its monthly production 787 Dreamliners from 10 to 12 in the coming year. Boeing is also set to start production of the first 787-10, the third and largest member of the Dreamliner family, next year. It is scheduled to enter service in 2018 and the only one that will be assembled exclusively in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Dreamliner production rate is targeted to reach 14 a month by the end of the decade.

BOC Aviation orders more 737s
Bank of China's aircraft leasing arm, BOC Aviation, has signed an agreement to buy 22 Boeing Co 737s valued at $US2.27 billion. The deal is equally split between 737-800 and 737 Max 8 aircraft, to be delivered over three years from 2018. The latest order is in addition to BOC Aviation's August 2014 order for 82 Boeing jets worth $US8.8 billion at list prices, comprising 50 737 Max aircraft, 30 737-800s and two 777-300ER widebody jets.

Iata trims passenger growth forecast
The International Air Transport Association has reduced its passenger growth forecasts from an annual rate of 4.1% to 3.8% through to 2034. Numbers are now expected to reach 7 billion rather than the previous forecast of 7.4 million. The new figure is more than double that of the 3.3 billion who flew in 2014 and exactly twice as many as the 3.5 billion expected in 2015. The revised result reflects negative developments in the global economy that are expected to dampen demand for air transport, especially slower economic growth projections for China.

If you are travelling by Air New Zealand this week, remember Koru Lounge wi-fi provides you with FREE access to NBR ONLINE premium content.