Auckland on low-cost airline’s radar

CEO Tony Marks is coy about rumours that Pacific Blue will start flying out of Auckland.

Low-cost carrier Pacific Blue looks ready to start flying out of Auckland.

Boss Tony Marks will not confirm as much, but told the Business Herald news could be forthcoming shortly.

"We ... recognise that Auckland is the major market to and from the Tasman and has to be on our radar. We'll make a statement about our 2005 aspirations about Auckland and one or two other places in the next couple of weeks."

He said the company, owned by Australia's Virgin Blue, had first examined a domestic service, but added that idea had "proved a little bit challenging".

It is not clear what destinations Pacific Blue would service. But, Auckland's Island population is likely to make the Pacific a top contender.

Marks' comments come as Virgin Blue's 45 per cent owner, Patrick Corp, mounts a bid to take full control of the carrier, 25 per cent owned by UK entrepreneur Richard Branson. They also come a year after Pacific Blue made its inaugural New Zealand flight out of Christchurch.

Pacific Blue is also flying from Wellington to destinations in Australia and the Pacific and is making a profit, although Marks will not disclose how much.

"I can't comment on Pacific Blue's profitability. I'm precluded from doing that as a company officer, especially as we have got an offer for the company," he said referring to Patrick's takeover bid.

And while Marks does not say it himself, in the world of commercial aviation, dominated by huge losses, a small profit is a big deal.

"It's been an extraordinary year," he says, with things turning out better than he hoped 12 months ago.

"We are ahead of where we wanted to be. We knew we'd start with one aircraft and go to two, we weren't certain about the third and we got a third."

Since Pacific Blue's proposals for a new plane must be weighed against competing claims from other parts of the Australian network, successfully getting a third jet was welcome.

"The business just keeps growing and the organisational numbers remain the same - it is a tribute to the competence of the people running it that they've got the experience and knowledge to do that."