Ahead of the release of the much-anticipated film franchise "The Hobbit", Air New Zealand has been announced as an official partner of the two-film series The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again.




The two-year deal with New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (revealed at San Diego Comic-Con) makes Air NZ the official airline of the films, creating specially themed and branded planes for passengers to enjoy.

Flights to and from the UK and North America will be immersed in the "Middle-Earth" experience so intertwined with rural New Zealand - the location for the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and the two new films.

Air New Zealand General Manager Marketing and Communications, Mike Tod, said, “We are excited at the prospect of so many international visitors travelling to Wellington for the 28 November 2012 world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

“New Zealand is clearly established as the home of Middle-earth and Air New Zealand will bring the magic to life for travellers. This partnership follows on naturally from the success of Air New Zealand’s relationship with The Lord of the Rings trilogy in raising New Zealand’s profile as an international travel destination.

“Similarly, we will be putting millions of dollars of marketing behind the two films based on The Hobbit to promote New Zealand in new and innovative ways across the globe.”


“The use of social media has grown exponentially since The Lord of the Rings trilogy and will play a big part in the way we’ll be connecting fans with both The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again and destination Middle-earth over the coming two years, including a series of exclusive competitions and unique fan opportunities,” says Mr Tod.