Air New Zealand ends seasonal Hobart flights, restarts Cairns

By Andrew Curran.

Air New Zealand is making its traditional seasonal adjustments for flights to secondary airports along Australia’s east coast. Among the changes this week are the end of seasonal Auckland (AKL) – Hobart (HBA) flights and the restart of seasonal Auckland – Cairns (CNS) services.

Winter flights between Auckland and Maroochydore/Sunshine Coast (MCY) resume in early June.

The final Air New Zealand A321-200NX flight to Hobart of the 2025/26 summer season touched down in the Tasmanian capital yesterday, March 30. The airport says the thrice-weekly flights carried 21,000 passengers this season.

“The record-breaking season highlights growing demand for direct international travel from Hobart, with more Tasmanians flying straight to Auckland and connecting onward to destinations including Canada, USA and Fiji,” reads a post on Hobart Airport’s LinkedIn page.

The flight to Auckland is Hobart’s only scheduled international service, although CEO Norris Carter told an Australian Government Senate Committee hearing in February that “fruitful” talks are underway with Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Air New Zealand’s Hobart flights will resume on October 25, 2026.

Hobart’s loss is Cairns’ gain, with Air New Zealand restarting its flights there today, March 31. Initially running twice weekly, the A321-200NX operated Auckland – Cairns round-trips will scale up to five times weekly during the July and August peak.

Air New Zealand’s winter Auckland – Cairns flights end on October 24.

Competitor Jetstar doesn’t operate on the route, although it flies Cairns – Christchurch (CHC).

Jetstar has an extensive trans-Tasman network but focuses on Australian cities further south along the coast. However, the Australian low-cost carrier services will compete with Air New Zealand on the Auckland - Maroochydore/Sunshine Coast city-pair. Jetstar services the route year-round while Air New Zealand will dip in thrice weekly between June 5 and October 23.

Air New Zealand also flies year-round to the east coast cities of Brisbane (BNE), Gold Coast (ADL), Sydney (SYD), and Melbourne (MEL), plus Adelaide (ADL) and Perth (PER) further west.

Photo: Hobart Airport

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com