Airlines spread Christmas cheer as they gear up for traffic bonanza

It’s that time of year when airlines display their Christmas spirit with festive food, drink and service, as millions of passengers fly over the festive season.

Air New Zealand says its cabin crew will transform its aircraft cabins into a “Christmas wonderland, complete with stockings, decorations, and Christmas treats” during the festive season. Throughout December, flights will have the airline’s classic red and green coloured lollies, and for a limited period, red and white-striped candy-cane flavoured lollies, while select flights will feature festive headrest covers and tray table mats.

“The new flavour tastes just like a Christmas candy cane, bringing some Christmas magic to fliers. We’ve been serving the iconic hard-boiled sweets for over half a century, and this is only the second time we have released a limited-edition flavour,” says Air New Zealand general manager customer experience Kylie McGillivray-Brown.

Its Koru Hour flights, which are certain weekday flights that link Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown, will feature “an extra special treat” of pretzel and candy cane bark, as well as more premium wines.

For Qantas, the festivities start in the lounge with the Qantas Signature Christmas Cocktail, roast turkey rolls, fruit mince pies, Christmas gingerbread and ice-creams.

The airline has decorated two of its passenger aircraft with a festive livery — a QantasLink Q400 turboprop named ‘Dasher-8’ and a Boeing 737, now known as ‘Roo-dolph’. Passengers travelling on these aircraft during December will earn double points. A Qantas Freight Airbus A321 has been decked out in a “Santa’s Freight” livery as the airline’s cargo division prepares to carry around one million kilograms of cargo per day — around 70 per cent more than the usual daily uplift — in the lead-up to Christmas.

On board, Qantas has rolled out new seasonal international first and business class menus. While there’s not a turkey or Christmas pudding in sight, the seasonal fare in first class includes an Australian tasting plate of saltbush-crusted goats cheese, lamb prosciutto, dukkah olives, piccalilli and bush tomato relish served with pepperleaf and parmesan lavosh. Or perhaps seared Glacier 51 toothfish with sugar snaps, snow peas and lemon is more appealing. Business class passengers can enjoy vegetable rendang with fragrant rice, cashews and spicy pickles, or a roast chicken thigh cutlet with charred broccolini, feta, olive and almond dressing.

Emirates is serving passengers in its lounges a seasonal selection of local savoury and sweet treats, along with turkey and all the trimmings, followed by festive cookies, chocolate cakes and gingerbread desserts, washed down with festive drinks.

On board certain Emirates flights, passengers will receive a chocolate, profiterole or gingerbread gift. In the airline’s economy and premium economy cabins, Emirates will serve roast turkey served with chestnut stuffing, roast potatoes, red cabbage and cranberry jus lie, while premium economy passengers can choose a salmon gravadlax with ginger and candied orange or the prawn cocktail appetiser before their turkey dinner, followed by a festive dessert.

In first and business class, a seafood appetiser is on the menu, followed by roast turkey, potatoes, steamed brussels sprouts, braised red cabbage and glazed chestnuts, and ending with a festive dessert. In the Onboard Lounge of the airline’s Airbus A380s, stollen cakes, mince pies and choux pastries will be served. Customers in first class can also enjoy a miniature Santa Claus crafted from strawberries and white chocolate cream, while hot cocoa and toppings will be available for all passengers, says the airline.

Festive viewing is also on offer, including Elf, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Love Actually, and The Polar Express, along with Christmas TV specials including Friends and The Big Bang Theory.

If you are flying over the festive season, be prepared for busy airports and flights. Emirates says its departure numbers through December are “significantly higher” than a year ago. Last year, more than 75,000 Emirates customers departed Dubai International Airport daily in December. In 2024, these numbers have risen as high as 89,000 on some days, representing an increase of almost 20 per cent. Emirates says its busiest days for departures are December 12-15 and December 20-22, while December 27-29 are also expected to see more than 88,000 customer departures per day.

As a result, Emirates is urging its customers to plan ahead, arriving up to three hours before a flight and take advantage of its check-in and baggage drop options, including private home check-in.

Virgin Australia will be operating up to 3000 flights per week across its domestic and short-haul international network in December and January — nearly half a million seats each week. The airline is expecting 20, 22 and 27 December to be its busiest days. The airline has added extra flights to holiday destinations including the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Tasmania, the Whitsundays, Hamilton Island and Byron Bay.

On Christmas day and Boxing day, Virgin Australia passengers can enjoy a curated holiday menu in the airline’s lounges and business class, including roast turkey with cranberry sauce and fruit mince pies, while economy class passengers will have to make do with festive chocolates.

The airline says it has introduced a number of measures to support its staff and passengers during the busy travel period, including adding staff in operational and guest assistance roles, having spare aircraft in place in case of unexpected disruption, introducing new ground services equipment, and the return of its Guest Ambassador Program, where corporate team members help their airport colleagues during peak periods.

The airline has also launched a Journey Tracker on its app, providing real-time flight updates on flight status, including gate changes and delays; as well as quick access to boarding passes across its domestic network.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority is urging passengers to pack their bags properly, ensuring they know what can and can’t be carried onboard or checked in; respect airline crew; and listen to instructions, paying attention to the safety briefing, follow the instructions of ground crew when walking across the tarmac and, in the unlikely event of an emergency, leave baggage behind.

And don’t forget, put any unwrapped gifts in your checked baggage or wrap them after travel so airport security personnel don’t have to unwrap them during the screening process.