Jetstar signs Tourism NZ deal, hands out iPads

Photo / Brett Phibbs

The three-year agreement will see Tourism NZ and Jetstar each contribute $1.5 million a year to a range of joint brand, promotional and tactical campaigns, consumer events, and print, online, TV and social media activities.

Tourism NZ, a government agency charged with marketing New Zealand to the world, has similar agreements with several other airlines, including Air New Zealand.

Jetstar said the deal marked the single largest push ever undertaken by the company in the New Zealand market and was the first formal marketing partnership between itself and Tourism NZ.

The company will increase New Zealand destination content on its website to support the partnership and the marketing drive will focus on encouraging holidaymakers to visit New Zealand on Jetstar's direct Auckland-Singapore services, transtasman flights and services from Japan, via Australia's Gold Coast.

Melbourne-based Jetstar was created by Qantas to counter the threat posed by another Australian low-cost airline Virgin Blue, which is 15 per cent owned by Air New Zealand.

Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said the launch of Jetstar Japan next year would put New Zealand within reach of millions more holidaymakers from key cities in the world's third-largest economy.

He said Jetstar, which brings more than 400,000 passengers to New Zealand a year, expected to introduce the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its existing Singapore-Auckland route when it becomes the first carrier in New Zealand to take delivery of the new aircraft type in 2013.

The Jetstar fleet is comprised of 86 aircraft and the airline has ordered 170 new planes for delivery over the next seven years.

Jetstar says it is the largest low cost airline in the Asia Pacific by revenue and has flown over 75 million customers since it launched in 2004.

In a separate statement, Jetstar said it would roll out Apple iPads on board, thereby becoming the first airline in the world to offer tailored technology for the device.

The first Jetstar flight with iPads on board left Auckland today. The technology allows passengers to view the latest release movies, TV shows and music direct from Hollywood, and a line-up of the latest generation games, e-magazines and e-books.