Declining domestic travel across New Zealand continues to weigh down Air New Zealand’s passenger growth, with 3.1 percent less locals flying during July this year compared to the same month last year.

According to the airline’s monthly investor update, Air New Zealand carried 663,000 New Zealanders last month, down from 731,000 pax carried during July the prior year.

The decline also follows on from the 1.7 percent drop in domestic passengers carried during June this year.

Despite the dip in locals travelling, international pax across the carrier’s network picked up by 3.4 percent over the same period while travellers flying across the trans-Tasman picked up 5.9 percent.

Hoping to build on its international growth, Air New Zealand announced that in early 2014 it would move its Los Angeles International Airport home from Terminal 2 to the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

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