September Domestic Travel Update

Auckland Airport retiring Strata Club and its app

Auckland Airport is retiring its Strata Club rewards programme and mobile app on 30 November, as it moves its core digital services to the Auckland Airport website. Members can continue earning Strata Points until 30 September and have until 30 November to redeem eligible points and benefits before they expire. Existing logins will automatically transition to an AKL account, while services including parking bookings and flight information will remain available through the airport website. The Strata Lounge is unaffected and will continue operating as normal.

What this means for travellers: If you or your travellers use Strata Club, check any remaining points or benefits and make use of them before 30 November. Travellers who currently rely on the Auckland Airport app should also be aware that parking, flight information and other airport services will move to the website from December.

Air New Zealand builds on operational momentum

Air New Zealand's reliability improvements continued in July, with 83.1% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule, up 6.4 percentage points on July last year. The result is notable given weather-related delay minutes were 74% higher year-on-year. The airline also recorded 246 fewer cancellations than July 2025 and a 41% reduction in reactionary delay minutes, meaning 1,366 fewer flights were caught up in knock-on disruption.

Air New Zealand is also extending its Automated Passenger Rebooking technology, first rolled out on domestic routes in mid-2025, to international cancellations. Customers with straightforward itineraries can now be rebooked in under 20 minutes rather than waiting hours, freeing up customer teams to focus on more complex journeys.

What this means for travellers: More certainty when it comes to arriving to your destination on time, and faster recovery when you are disrupted.

Regional connectivity expands

Air New Zealand and Air Chathams have expanded their interline partnership, bringing Whanganui into the network and, for the first time, allowing customers to book a single journey to and from the Chatham Islands. The expanded network, covering Auckland–Whanganui, Auckland–Chatham Islands, Wellington–Chatham Islands and Christchurch–Chatham Islands, started from 13 August.

The announcement coincided with the completion of a new terminal at the Chatham Islands' Inia William Tuuta Memorial Airport, supporting future growth in tourism and business travel to the islands.

What this means for travellers: More regions are now accessible on a single booking, with baggage checked through to the final destination, simplifying itineraries for teams travelling to and from regional New Zealand.

Queenstown Airport caps record year with major investment programme

Queenstown Airport has closed out its financial year on a high, reporting revenue of $87.1 million, underlying profit after tax of $34.0 million and a record dividend of $20.4 million, off the back of 2.82 million passenger movements, including more than one million international passengers for the first time. Chief Executive Shane O'Hare says the airport is now focused on managing growth pressures, working with central government and continuing to invest significantly in infrastructure as passenger numbers climb.

What this means for travellers: Continued investment supports Queenstown's role as a key regional gateway for business and tourism alike. With passenger volumes at record levels, organisations travelling regularly to Queenstown should allow extra time during peak periods while infrastructure catches up with demand.

Practical update: changes at Christchurch Airport valet parking

From 28 August, Christchurch Airport's Valet Park introduced a secure after-hours key collection lockbox for travellers whose return flights land after 10:30pm, alongside a small adjustment to multi-day rates. Vehicle grooming and detailing add-ons will also be paused from 27 August, with a return date to be confirmed.

What this means for travellers: Frequent flyers using valet parking at Christchurch should familiarise themselves with the new after-hours collection process and check current rates before booking.

As always, we'll continue monitoring developments across New Zealand's travel landscape. If changing schedules, regional services or airport updates affect your travel plans, we're here to help. Tandem Travel will continue working alongside you to keep your travellers moving with confidence.