Singapore Airlines has announced it will offer a further 27 supplementary flights to Christchurch from December 2 to February 15, 2016.

The Singapore flag carrier will increase its daily service by 9-10 flights a week using a refitted Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, representing an additional 7290 seats into Christchurch – a 17.4 percent increase.

The extra capacity is a result of strong demand for travel to the South Island over the summer holidays, and this will be the third year of expanded operations by the airline to Christchurch, though the first year under the Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines alliance.

Increased services will bring an additional $15 million in visitor spending, given that 75 percent of international visitors that arrive via Christchurch also visit other areas.

"This is also excellent news for our exporters, enabling them to transport an extra 378 tonnes of high value/time sensitive air freight to fast growing Asian markets. It is also excellent news for South Islanders wanting to travel to Asia or Europe,” said Malcolm Johns, Christchurch Airport chief executive.

The flights also provide improved connectivity in Singapore to Europe, with enhanced connectivity from inbound markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India.

"Singapore Airlines has one of the most extensive networks in the world meaning it will be easy for visitors from not only Asia but key markets in Europe to get to Christchurch. The South Island is also growing in popularity with Asian visitors and these extra flights reflect confidence in that,” he added.

Christchurch Airport has also recently welcomed a number of other Asian carriers including Taiwan’s China Airlines, which runs a regular scheduled service from Taipei, and China Southern which operates charter flights around Chinese New Year.

Air New Zealand has recently dropped its weekly Tokyo – Christchurch route in favour of Auckland, but will continue to run charter flights during the summer season. Fiji Airways has recently boosted its Christchurch service, after doubling its scheduled flight.