Jetstar shuns Wellington over high fees
The Dominion Post reports that Wellington International Airport must learn how to deal with budget airlines if it wants to attract new services, the new head of Qantas budget offshoot Jetstar says.
Jetstar said yesterday that it would add trans-Tasman services from Auckland to Sydney and the Gold Coast from April, using 180-seat Airbus A320 jets.
Jetstar has been flying from Christchurch for three years.
But chief executive Bruce Buchanan said Wellington’s landing charges were too high to make services to the capital viable.
The city’s short runway also created some operating constraints which hit profitability.
“The airport charging regime is probably one of the worst in the country and therefore it is not one that interests me tremendously in terms of getting into it,” Mr Buchanan said.
Instead, the airline would focus on Auckland and Christchurch for its operations to New Zealand and beyond.
If Wellington put an attractive offer on the table than it would be considered.
Some airports had learned how to work with budget airlines, but Wellington had not, Mr Buchanan said.
An airport would typically need to offer some sort of discount on landing charges for a period of time while the service became established.
The airport benefited long term from increased sales through its duty-free and other shops and car parking.
The Auckland services were the start of significant expansion plans that the airline has for New Zealand, including domestic, Tasman and long-haul international.
While no decisions have been made for domestic services, Mr Buchanan said linking Auckland and Christchurch was a “highly likely option”.
But Jetstar also plans to use the two centres as a hub for direct flights to the United States and Asia using the new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Wellington Airport is pinning its hopes on the 787 for direct flights to Asia. The 787 is the first twin-isle aircraft to be able to fly long distance from the airport.
Jetstar has spent the past few years focusing on building its Asian and long haul networks.
It now plans to funnel Asian tourists to New Zealand via Australia.
“We plan to significantly boost tourism to New Zealand,” Mr Buchanan said.
Jetstar’s arrival on the key Auckland to Sydney and Gold Coast routes would put further pressure on Air New Zealand.
The 42 weekly flights from Auckland would add 5,000 seats a week to the Tasman routes.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe is concerned that only a small increase in the number of seats would wipe out profits on the ultra-competitive routes.
Mr Buchanan said Jetstar’s lower operating costs than any of its competitors meant it was able to compete sustainably on lower fares.
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