The reliability of Air New Zealand and Jetstar flights has seen improvement as spring approaches, though around 20 per cent of flights remain delayed, with a notable number of cancellations.

According to data released by New Zealand’s Ministry of Transport, overall on-time performance for September 2024 was 79.7 per cent for departures and 81.7 per cent for arrivals.

Air New Zealand’s on-time departures hit 80.4 per cent while Jetstar recorded 78.0 per cent. For arrivals, Air New Zealand achieved 82.1 per cent, slightly ahead of Jetstar’s 80.6 per cent.

However, Air New Zealand's cancellation rate for September was notably higher at 1.4 per cent, more than double Jetstar’s 0.6 per cent.

Air New Zealand and Jetstar are the two main airlines that service the Rarotonga – Auckland route.

Tourism chief executive officer, Karla Eggelton in a recent statement, said that Cook Islands is still buzzing with visitors and she foresees a positive demand for visitors to travel to the Cook Islands through to the end of this year.

“Even as we enter the shoulder season, our islands are still buzzing, with a strong visitor turnout in September of 17,381 arrivals, and October is shaping up just as well,” she said.

“It’s exciting to see our efforts in encouraging year-round travel paying off, as we continue our commitment to a sustainable tourism economy.”

Prior to that, Eggelton said that every year as has been for a number of years from October, there is a schedule change for flights out of Auckland.

She said the October to March schedule shows a reduced service, however, adding: “What is positive is that demand for Cook Islands is on the rise and planes are coming in very full.”

“So you can expect to see healthy numbers taking us through to the end of the year.”

According to the Cook Islands Statistics Office, the total number of visitors to the Cook Islands in September was 17,381 and the biggest changes were arrivals from Australia.

Arrivals from Australia were up with 1,279, followed by United States 131, but there was a drop in visitors from Europe which was 79.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand’s cancellations were most prevalent on the Dunedin-Auckland route, where 3.4 per cent of flights (four cancellations) affected passengers.

Figures show that Wellington-Queenstown had the best on-time performance in September, with 93.1% on-time departures and 91.7 per cent on-time arrivals.

For August, on-time performance across all routes saw 78.5 per cent of arrivals and 76.5 per cent of departures on time. Cancellations remained at 1.4 per cent, consistent with trends seen throughout the season.

Future reports aim to include more routes and regional destinations to provide a broader picture of airline performance across New Zealand.

Jetstar’s most recent cancellation of the Rarotonga to Auckland JQ130 flight was in September, where some passengers were left stranded in Rarotonga on Monday night.

A spokesperson for Jetstar told Cook Islands News at the time that the inbound flight's delay led the crew to exceed regulated working hours, forcing the flight’s cancellation.

The airline arranged accommodation for some passengers, but others had to find their own due to fully booked lodgings across the island. -Talaia Mika