Air New Zealand has added flights between Shanghai and Auckland following strong demand from travellers for more services between China and New Zealand.

From November, Air New Zealand has started to operate two extra services per week between Shanghai and Auckland, increasing its weekly operations from three to five.

The two new services fly Thursdays and Saturdays, complementing Air New Zealand's current services that fly Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

All flights between Shanghai and Auckland are operated with the 313-seat Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, which is fitted with the airline's Business Premier, Pacific Premium Economy and Pacific Economy cabins, all featuring in-flight digital entertainment on demand.

"As the Chinese do more business with New Zealand and are increasingly visiting the country as a travel destination, we have seen an upsurge in passengers flying our Shanghai- Auckland route. The new services will be introduced to meet this growing demand, offering greater flight flexibility, particularly among our business customers," said Peter Elmsly, general manager of Greater China.

For the year ended June 2007, visitors from China to New Zealand increased by more than 20 percent to 116,000, while the number of Kiwis visiting China increased to 53,000.

The airline will also introduce double daily services between Hong Kong and Auckland on Fridays and Sundays from 30 November 2007 to 2 March 2008.

In addition, Air New Zealand has been operating a code share agreement with Air China and Shanghai Airlines since 1 July 2007 on its services between Shanghai and Auckland and selected New Zealand domestic services. The two code share agreements have opened up both the Chinese and New Zealand markets to more passengers.

"China is a key strategic market for Air New Zealand and our code share agreements with Air China and Shanghai Airlines, and our service increases, demonstrate our continued commitment to the China market. As the national flag carrier of New Zealand, we are proud to be playing a key role in bringing these two great countries and their people closer," added Elmsly.