Touch down: the first bubble flights land in New Zealand

by Jenny Hewett

Apr 21, 2021

Hooray for bubbles.

That was the official welcome from Air New Zealand as all 214 passengers arrived at Sydney International Airport on Monday April 19 for the first quarantine-free flight across the ditch in over a year.

Air New Zealand's first flight to Wellington

Never one to neglect a pun, Air New Zealand had put 24,000 bottles of bubbles on ice for the occasion, with flight NZ246 at 7.45am being the first to mark the long-awaited trans-Tasman travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand.

It may have only been 6am, but there was plenty of fizz in the air, with all passengers on the first flight invited to an assisted buffet breakfast and bubbly in the Air New Zealand before take off. Glasses were kept topped up both on-board and at the gate, where travellers made their way onto the plane to live renditions of Crowded House and Dave Dobbyn.

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There were cheers, applause and tears as the wheels of the Airbus A321 kissed the ground at Wellington Airport, the majority of passengers returning Kiwis eager to see their families, plenty of them with little ones in tow.

As part of new COVID measures, staff wore gloves alongside masks and passengers were required to wear masks and complete a New Zealand travel declaration before their flight, as well as being encouraged to download New Zealand’s Covid Tracer app. On arrival to New Zealand, border authorities checked travel declarations, but other than health declarations and random checks, there wasn’t much change in the experience.

Touch down: the first bubble flights land in New Zealand

Air New Zealand will operate three to five flights per day from Sydney to its ports, including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. Flights are also available with less frequency from Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Hobart.

With Air New Zealand, Jetstar and Qantas currently operating flights to New Zealand, there is plenty of availability and a seat-only return ticket to Wellington on Air New Zealand in May is currently $677. As always, book early to secure the best deals.

See you there.