Air New Zealand is making further cuts to its flight schedules in and out of Nelson and lifting ticket prices in response to the high cost of jet fuel.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith says the airline is canning 70 Nelson flights to and from Wellington, 40 to and from Christchurch and 30 to and from Auckland in May and June.
This is on top of the 60 flight cancellations announced to and from the region in March.
"We have worked hard to keep disruption to a minimum, with the vast majority of impacted customers still travelling on the same day," the airline said in a statement.
It said affected customers would be notified from Tuesday morning, and all notifications would be completed by the end of the week.
"These changes are relatively small compared to others in the New Zealand market, where some airlines are reducing capacity by more than 10 percent," the airline said.
The global cost of jet fuel has soared since the start of the US-Israel-Iran War this year. Asian jet fuel prices soared to US$230 a barrel according to the Platts benchmark, compared to below US$100 a barrel before the war.
"Like airlines globally, we're experiencing jet fuel prices that are more than double what they would usually be," Air New Zealand said.
"This is driving higher costs across the industry, and we've made further increases to some airfares to help manage this."
The airline said customers whose updated flights did not suit their plans could choose a refund or credit.
"If you don't hear from us, your flight is operating as scheduled."
Nick says the announcement is disappointing for Nelson but understandable with no signs of the oil crisis in the Middle East de-escalating.
"It represents the loss of about 8000 seats in and out of Nelson over June and July. This will impact on the number of visitors to the region and make it more difficult for people travelling for work, healthcare and holidaying outside the region. The loss of flights also negatively impacts on council's finances as a 50 percent owner in Nelson Airport Ltd."
Nick says his biggest concern was around the tourism sector.
"I would encourage Nelson people considering taking a holiday in the next couple of months to think about the local option of going to Golden Bay, Abel Tasman or Nelson Lakes to help our local tourism sector."
