WELLINGTON: An Air New Zealand frequent flyer says the airline lowered trans-Tasman fares by about USD 300 for Tuesday’s trans-Tasman bubble announcement, but they are still about USD 100 more than what they were pre-pandemic.

Trans-Tasman ticket sales have hit a record high, with tens of thousands of people booking flights after the travel bubble declaration, the flag carrier announced on Wednesday.

April is shaping up to be the airline's busiest month so far, with flights from Auckland-Sydney, Auckland-Brisbane and Christchurch-Melbourne on 19 April selling out fast, Xinhua news agency quoted the airline as saying in a statement. May is coming in at a close second, Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran said in the statement.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a trans-Tasman bubble would open from April 19, allowing for quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia.

"Auckland-Sydney was our most popular route yesterday, seeing the largest growth in bookings to date. We expect this is a mixture of friends and family making up for a year of missed milestones, and business travellers keen to get moving again.

"While a lot of Kiwis are heading across the ditch, there have been really strong bookings for Australians coming to check out New Zealand. Queenstown will see an influx of Aussies in July and September and we expect to see a bigger boost around the country for the July school holidays. It's promising to be a busy ski season for the mountains.

AstraZeneca UK vaccine trial in children halted as blood clot link investigated

Pandemic hit almost one million jobs loss in Italy in the past 1 year

Iran Prosecutor Says 10 officials Indicted for Ukraine Plane crash