Pacific Blue reaches for sky
Report in The Dominion Post says that Pacific Blue has blazed its way on to domestic aviation routes yesterday, promising sustained competition for Air New Zealand and Qantas.
The budget offshoot of Australia’s Virgin Blue had sold 150,000 discounted domestic tickets since August, when it launched plans to extend its existing trans-Tasman network on to domestic routes.
Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said ticket sales profits were less than expected, but sales volumes were higher. “I’m happy with that, but I would also at some stage like to see some non-discounted tickets at good levels.”
Pacific Blue’s arrival immediately lowered the cheapest standard main trunk fares by $20, to between $59 and $79 one-way.
However, special launch fares have ranged between $9 and $39 one-way as the airline tried to carve out market share quickly. It promised to sell all seats for less than $99 for the first six months.
Mr Godfrey said it would take time for travellers to realise that it was a “real airline”. He forecast it would be quite a player in New Zealand within two years.
The Christchurch airline is running two 180-seat Boeing 737-300s on 10 return flights between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, against Air New Zealand and Qantas.
Air New Zealand dominates the main trunk with 14 737-300s and smaller turbo-prop aircraft, making 56 return trips daily.
Mr Godfrey said Pacific Blue would provide a one-off boost to the number of people travelling between the main centres by up to 25 per cent in the first year. He then expected growth to settle back to the longer term average growth rate of 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
Pacific Blue would add a third 737-800 about March.
As a “challenger brand”, Virgin Blue was attracted to markets constrained by lacklustre competition and monopolistic or duopolistic behaviour. “New Zealand is a prime example of this,” he said.
But Air New Zealand deputy chief executive Norm Thompson said that was exactly the environment in which Virgin Blue operated in Australia, where it shared the market with Qantas. Fares were much higher in Australia than on comparable New Zealand routes, making Virgin Blue one of the most profitable airlines in the world, he said.
Lower domestic airfares would increase the market, but at the expense of revenue growth.
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney suggested New Zealand would benefit from more low-cost carriers in the next two or three years, including long-haul budget airlines.
A Report by The Mole from The Dominion Post
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025