NZPA reports that Jetstar has officially announced its assault on the domestic New Zealand air travel market with flights between Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown.
The Qantas subsidiary will start with two A320 aircraft from June 10 operating four city pair markets, before introducing a third A320 from June 24, subject to regulatory approval. The airline is promising to beat any competitor by 10% when booking at a similar date or time. As part of the launch it will offer one-way internet-booked flights for $1 for travel between July 22 and September 22. The $1 flights will be available for two hours from midday today unless seats sell out.
Business Day reports that Qantas is replacing its New Zealand domestic service with subsidiary Jetstar in a reduction aimed at the slowing travel market. Jetstar will take over routes servicing Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown, while cutting its Rotorua route, the company said. As part of the changes, Qantas’s New Zealand subsidiary Jetconnect, which flies under the Qantas markings, will no longer operate through New Zealand, instead adding capacity across the Tasman Sea. In total, Qantas is adding 12 more flights in New Zealand, although it would not provide a tally of total seating changes. The New Zealand domestic market is dominated by Air New Zealand, with Virgin Blue subsidiary Pacific Blue also offering low-cost services.
NZPA reports that a price war on New Zealand’s main domestic airline routes is likely, with Jetstar set to announce plans to join the market. Some in the travel industry expect Jetstar to reinstate some of the off-peak services between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch that were abandoned last month by its parent airline Qantas. “It would be a fairly safe bet that they will go main trunk,” an industry executive said in The Dominion Post. That would mean four airlines – Air New Zealand, Qantas, Pacific Blue and Jetstar – flying between Auckland and Christchurch. Jetstar’s staff costs are significantly lower than Qantas’s and well below Air New Zealand’s, giving it a price advantage. Jetstar was not commenting on details of the announcement, expected to be released within days.
The Associated Press reports that Asia’s budget airlines should benefit from bargain hunting travelers amid a global economic slowdown, as long as government barriers don’t stifle expansion of this still young business, industry experts said. Low-cost carriers are poised to take advantage of falling fuel costs and increased demand for cheap fares as full-service airlines struggle with a global collapse in consumer demand, they said. “These times are very good for low-cost carriers,” said Bruce Buchanan, CE of Jetstar Airways. “We’re seeing quite strong demand. Six months ago it was a much tougher environment.” Budget airlines have flourished this decade in Asia as the region opened routes to competition. However, governments could scuttle that growth by returning to protectionist policies in a bid to save jobs at national flagship carriers, many of which are state-owned, said Peter Harbison, an industry consultant at the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Tiger Airways CE Tony Davis said that while a surge in protectionism is the industry’s biggest risk, governments also face pressure to boost tourist revenue. “I don’t think protectionism will flourish in this market,” Davis said. “Progress is being made.”
The Australian reports that JetStar has scrapped fuel surcharges on its international routes, saving passengers up to A$68 each way. The airline announced it would remove the levy from its trans-Tasman flights as well as its short-haul and long-haul international services. Jetstar has already removed fuel surcharges on its domestic flights.
TVNA reports that budget airline Jetstar is looking for up to 250 new pilots, cabin crew and ground staff for its expanding New Zealand business. The Qantas offshoot flies to Australia from Christchurch, and will add transtasman services to Auckland from the end of April. CE Bruce Buchanan said about 100 staff would be employed in the first wave, adding to about 65 in Christchurch, The Dominion Post reported. Further planes added to its New Zealand fleet during the year would need another 150 staff, Buchanan says.
The Australian newspaper reports that domestic airfares have hit their lowest level since 1992, according to a new survey that shows the cheapest fares are nearly 30% lower than a year ago. The 17-year low, revealed in figures for January from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, is further evidence that bargain-hunting travellers are benefiting from airline moves to offset weaker demand by filling planes. Full economy airfares nose-dived, falling by 21.6% compared with January last year, but this mainly reflects the impact on the index caused by the addition of Virgin Corporate Plus fares last February. However, the sharp falls were not seen in all fare types. Business class fares in January were less than 1% lower than in the previous year, while restricted economy fares fell by only 2.6%.
Associated Press reports that Malaysia’s low-cost airport terminal has been evacuated and flights delayed after a fire broke out Friday in a duty-free shop. Airport fire chief Jasni Ali said the blaze caused thick smoke at the terminal and forced the evacuation of all passengers and airport staff. He said shop staff managed to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher before two fire trucks arrived. Nobody was injured. Azmi Murad, senior GM with operator Malaysia Airports, said the blaze was caused by sparks from construction works to expand the terminal. Work was being done above the ceiling of the duty-free shop at the time and some sparks fell on a box that caught fire, he said. Malaysia Airports is investigating whether it was due to negligence of the construction workers and will take measures to improve safety measures, he added. AirAsia is the anchor tenant at the airport, which opened in 2006. Other airlines based there are Cebu Pacific and Tiger Airways. The terminal is 20 kilometres from the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The expansion work is aimed at increasing airport capacity to 15m passengers a year, from 10m now.
AFP reports that budget carrier AirAsia on Thursday unveiled plans to shift to its own US$460m airport outside Kuala Lumpur and abandon its overcrowded terminal next to the main international hub. The move has thrown into doubt the national airport operator’s plans to build a new Low Cost Carrier Terminal next to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), to replace the existing facility that opened in 2006. “We believe in lowering our business costs. It is the key to our success,” AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes said. “The new airport, which will be known as KLIA East, will provide more capacity for aircraft and passengers and enable us to bring down fares,” he said, adding that costs could be cut by 30%. Fernandes rejected criticism that KLIA has more than enough capacity to handle AirAsia’s growth plans and that the sprawling city has no need for what would be its fourth airport. “I think we know what we need, we are not silly,” he said. “There is nothing here (at the old terminal) to add value to our passengers. Allow us to take our destiny in our own hands.”
AND: We say this could only be a good move for passengers as the current terminal couldn’t be more like a bus station on speed.
The Australian reports that Melbourne-based Tiger Airways yesterday launched a network-wide, half-price sale, including one-way tickets starting at A$17.49. Tiger said thousands of tickets would be available during the five-day sale for travel between next month and October. The airline services destinations in all states and territories except NSW and is opening a new base in Adelaide from March 1 using Airbus A320 aircraft. Fares from Adelaide under the sale include $24.98 to Canberra, $34.98 to the Gold Coast and $44.98 to Perth. The fares do not include a $5 a sector credit card booking fee. Travellers will also be able to travel from Melbourne to Canberra for $17.49.
