Christmas cargo shopping list for Air New Zealand

Summer shopping list -

• Around 1,400,000kg of blueberries sent up to Australia
• Around 930,000kg of lamb sent up to the UK for Christmas
• More than 900,000kg of cherries up to Asia
• 1,500,000kg of capsicums up to Japan, with a further 73,000kg to Australia.

Air New Zealand General Manager Anna Palairet says carriage is up 11% on the same period last year, showing the growing demand for air freight leading into the holiday period.

"It's been an incredible year for New Zealand exports, and we're proud to have kept trade lanes open throughout the pandemic with the help from the Government's Maintaining International Air Capacity (MIAC) scheme.

"For the past two years, our imports have looked a little different, carrying more PPE to support New Zealand's health response to COVID. The likes of sanitisers, gowns, gloves and COVID-19 testing kits have been filling up the belly of our aircraft en route back to Aotearoa. And more recently, it's been a real privilege to be part of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the Pacific Islands.

"Next to our fresh produce exports, we've also seen the rise of inbound e-commerce cargo, showing the increasing trend of online shopping and fast fulfillment. Over the next few years, we'll be focusing on supporting growth for e-commerce customers, while helping to grow our perishable customers into new markets."

General Manager Southern Paprika Limited Blair Morris says Air New Zealand has been a lifeline for their business through the pandemic, allowing them continued access to their important Japanese market.

"The continuation of services gave us the ability to support our long-standing customers who rely on New Zealand fresh product through their winter months. Having the trade links open has allowed us to operate under close to normal conditions and provide ongoing benefits to our staff and wider community."