Air New Zealand Will Fly Non-Stop From Christchurch to Bali in Winter 2027

Air New Zealand will launch a non-stop route between Christchurch and Denpasar, Bali, during the Southern Hemisphere winter of 2027, the airline announced on October 28, 2026. It expects to fly the route three times a week through to the end of August.

In the same announcement, the airline said its new Christchurch to Singapore service will run year-round rather than as a seasonal route. Its first flight had left Christchurch that afternoon.

What Air New Zealand has confirmed

The Bali flights are a winter-only escape route for the South Island, where winter runs from June to August. Air New Zealand said tickets for the Christchurch to Denpasar service are expected to go on sale later in 2026.

The airline has not yet published a start date, flight times or the aircraft type for the route.

“Bali has long been a favourite holiday spot for Kiwi, and we know how appealing a bit of sunshine is in the middle of a South Island winter,” said chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar. He added that flying direct means customers spend less time connecting through other airports.

Air New Zealand already serves Bali from Auckland, according to BusinessDesk. The airline relaunched its Bali flights in March 2023, and in June 2024 it called itself the only airline offering a direct connection between New Zealand and Bali.

For South Island travelers, the new route means flying straight to Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport instead of connecting through another airport on the way.

Singapore becomes a permanent route

Air New Zealand first announced the Christchurch to Singapore Changi flights in May 2026 as a seasonal service, three times a week over the northern winter. Published schedules had it running from October 28, 2026, to March 26, 2027, on a retrofitted Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with 272 seats.

The airline now says the route will stay in the network all year. Its October 28 departure marked the return of widebody flying between the two cities for the first time in six years; Air New Zealand had suspended its earlier seasonal service in February 2020 because of Covid-19.

Singapore Airlines also flies its own year-round service on the route. The two carriers are alliance partners on flights between New Zealand and Singapore.

Seasonal non-stop flights from Christchurch to Tokyo Narita and Perth are due to begin in November, and the airline says both remain subject to regulatory and airport approvals.

Why Christchurch, and why now

Air New Zealand’s international network runs mainly from its Auckland base. Singapore, Tokyo Narita, Perth and now Bali give Christchurch International Airport four new or expanded Air New Zealand routes, a notable shift toward the South Island.

Both sides tie the routes to a new partnership between the airline and the airport. “This is a great example of our new partnership with Air New Zealand in action,” said Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson.

In the same BusinessDesk report, aviation commentator Irene King said that the moves endorse South Island growth. She said Christchurch handles widebody aircraft better than Queenstown, and that a stronger Christchurch base could give the airline more control over costs such as airport fees than its dominant Auckland hub.

The timing also tracks the airline’s fleet recovery. In August, Air New Zealand reported a NZ$336 million pre-tax loss for its 2026 financial year, and estimated that problems with its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and Pratt & Whitney PW1100 engines cut the result by about NZ$190 million.

Ravishankar said then that the engine challenges that had constrained the network were “now substantially behind us,” although the airline still expected an engine-related hit of NZ$70 million to NZ$90 million in the 2027 financial year.