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Qantas will target business travellers in the New Zealand domestic market as competition in the aviation market heats up.
The Australian airline will today launch new fares and timetables as it brings Cityflyer, a service it already runs on routes between the six major Australian cities, to New Zealand.
The Cityflyer service promises greater frequency of flights, flexible fares, valet parking and complementary snacks and beverages.
Qantas is also announcing additions to its fleet, self-service check-in facilities and an upgrade to its domestic club.
Qantas currently operate out of Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.
The airline ceased offering direct flights between Wellington and Christchurch in March.
In Australia Qantas has operated budget domestic subsidiary Jetstar since 2004 but has not revealed any plans to bring Jetstar to New Zealand.
Budget airline Virgin Blue lifted off in August, offering 70,000 $39 fares for flights on its Pacific Blue subsidiary between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
At the time of the launch, Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said Queenstown, Rotorua, Wanaka and Palmerston North could be included in the destination list before the end of the year.
Last week Air New Zealand gave shareholders more detail of planned upgrades to its domestic services at the company's annual meeting.
Chief executive Rob Fyfe announced plans for further enhancements to its electronic check-in facilities, including the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to enable customers to check through baggage without queuing.
Bags with an RFID tag can be placed on a conveyor belt and the tag enables the system to identify the passenger, match name with the flight and destination booked, and direct the bag to the appropriate baggage channel.
Air New Zealand is also planning to introduce larger seat spaces, aimed at business and frequent flyers, in the front rows of the B737s.
