Hopes high of rival airline landing

Stuart Garmer at Tauranga Airport. Photo / George Novak

Bay business leaders hope continued growth and a strong economy will beat out other contenders as the city vies for Jetstar flights - which could lead to prices dropping 40 per cent.

Last week Jetstar New Zealand head Grant Kerr boosted confidence during a fact-finding visit to Tauranga and said at a roadshow the city was still very much in the running to become one of the low-cost carrier's first regional destinations.

The airline had identified eight potential cities including Tauranga, Rotorua, Napier, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Nelson and Invercargill. It would announce four regional destinations by the time it began its commercial launch in early September, the first flights expected in December.

"When we enter a market typically we've seen air fares drop by 40 per cent," he said.

Tourism Bay of Plenty head of marketing and communications Kristin Dunne said Tauranga deserved and required more air service providers.

It was the fifth fastest-growing city in New Zealand and the sixth largest tourism region. Domestic and international visitor numbers would increase, she said.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Stan Gregec said Tauranga businesses would welcome a second airline service based on it being "reliable and here for the long haul". "Jetstar will no doubt be looking at many factors in coming to its decision, but we believe the importance of the business market will be a strong consideration."

Priority One chief executive Andrew Coker said his organisation worked to encourage businesses to expand or relocate so airline access in and out of Tauranga was one of its considerations. "So potentially, a second airline, with increased services and competitive pricing adds to the region's competitive advantages."

Trustpower community relations manager Graeme Purches said competition was healthy and could lead to better services and better prices in the short term. But the real question was whether that could be sustained, he said.

Trustpower had about 650 employees, 465 based in Tauranga. "As an international company with its head office in Tauranga Trustpower requires flights to a great many places - and we require that travel to be fast, seamless and as reasonably priced as possible."

Tauranga Airport manager Ray Dumble said the airport was "ready to rock and roll" and now "it is a bit of a waiting game".

Last month Air New Zealand expected its annual earnings to rise by up to 60 per cent, with benign trading conditions continuing into the second half of the year.

It said passenger numbers were up 4.2 per cent to almost 13 million in the year ended May 31.

Meanwhile, in the face of plans by rival Jetstar to expand into regional destinations later this year, Air New Zealand has said it would not be undercut on prices on the regional routes and was "ready for the battle".

An Air New Zealand spokesperson said it continued to support the growth in demand at Tauranga for services by upgrading aircraft and increasing capacity by 3 per cent over the past 12 months.

"In 2016 we will add almost 36,000 additional seats in and out of Tauranga, representing a further capacity increase of nearly 10 per cent," she said. "Last month we also brought our 'Favourite Places' campaign to Tauranga, selling more than 2100 seats between Tauranga and Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington for just $49."

Cheaper tickets would prompt more air travel
Tauranga financial adviser Stuart Garner says if Jetstar decides to fly to the city it will bring the cost of tickets down. He was flying to Napier yesterday on business via Auckland and said it was cheaper to fly to Rarotonga.

Mr Garner usually opted to drive that route but said the road was closed. However, he would travel by air more often if it was cheaper. Only having one air carrier for Tauranga was a disadvantage because "the more competition you have the better".

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