Europeans behind NZ budget airline plan

By DANIEL RIORDAN, aviation writer

European investors are the driving force behind Jump Airlines, the proposed budget carrier aiming to start flying next April.

Jump is seeking to hire pilots and engineers and plans to fly between Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch, using two leased 171-seat Boeing 737-700 jets. It will employ 120 staff.

Steve Mosen, co-founder of failed discount carrier CityJet, and so far the only individual identified with the new airline, said yesterday that he was a consultant to Jump, rather than an investor or shareholder.

He said most of the major investors were European businessmen, although a New Zealander was also involved.

Speaking from France, Mosen told the Business Herald THAT he had met the European investors while spending the past year in Britain and Europe, trying to obtain qualifications for his European pilot licence.

He said Jump's business plan was based on successful budget carriers Southwest Airlines in the US, easyJet in Europe and WestJet in Canada.

A chief executive and chief financial officer have been chosen, and the airline will be headed by a seven-member board, including two non-executive directors.

"They want to be in the same position Virgin Blue was in Australia if Air NZ's strategy doesn't work out."

He expected Freedom Air to be absorbed by its parent, Air NZ, but said that whatever low-cost strategy Air NZ adopted, there would still be room in the market next April for Jump.

Air NZ spokesman David Beatson said Jump's plans did not alter the national carrier's plans, which already allowed for fighting a new market entrant, Virgin Blue.

A foreign-owned airline seeking to fly solely within New Zealand needs approval from the Overseas Investment Commission, which in most cases is largely a rubber-stamp process.

The main regulatory hurdle is the Civil Aviation Authority, which requires would-be airlines to file what amount to comprehensive business plans outlining such key factors as management and operational structure.

Many overseas jurisdictions require evidence of financial health before certifying new carriers, but the New Zealand authority's concerns are to do with safety and not finance.

Authority spokesman Bill Sommer said it advised airlines applying for certification that the process could take 90 days.

Mosen said Jump would probably apply within the next 30 to 60 days.

It first needed to hire two key executives and a chief pilot and chief engineer.