Air New Zealand says the latest cutbacks to its domestic routes are about sensible planning

The airline's announced it's reducing flights between Christchurch and New Plymouth, and running smaller planes between Christchurch and Queenstown.

No exact dates have been given on when the changes take hold, but expects it to roll out over January and February next year.

Domestic manager Scott Carr says while these are good economic decisions, they also need to be practical.

He says they want to make sure they don't disrupt too many school holiday travel plans.