Jetstar adds routes to OZ

Photo / Greg Bowker

Jetstar is expanding its transtasman services with new routes from Auckland to Melbourne and Cairns.

The low-fare airline will start daily services to Melbourne in December and a three-times-a-week service to Cairns in April next year.

Jetstar said the new services would take its transtasman network to 10 routes supported by a seventh A320 aircraft based in New Zealand from the end of the year.

Chief executive Bruce Buchanan said the expansion would continue.

"There's been a significant amount of infrastructure and capability building over the last 12 months and now we're really trying to harvest on that as we move into the next 12 months with some rapid growth across all of these different markets," Buchanan said.

Jetstar said it would consolidate its position in the domestic market with flights between Auckland and Wellington rising to 24 times a week in December and operations increasing to 91 weekly return flights this year.

Auckland Airport chief executive, Simon Moutter, said the announcement was a boost for tourism. "These new Jetstar services fit extremely well with our strategy to drive more tourism into New Zealand through complementary destinations," Moutter said.

Meanwhile, Buchanan said research on a common simplified transtasman border showed a potential benefit of up to A$365 million ($446 million) a year, and 326,000 more passenger movements. Return fares could drop by A$76 with up to A$234 million annual cost savings to airlines.