KEY POINTS:
Palmerston North has attracted a replacement for departing Freedom Air international flights, with Australian airline OzJet due to begin flying the Tasman in March.
OzJet, which operates charter and regular scheduled services, will fly between Palmerston North and Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. A regular schedule and other details have not been finalised, Palmerston North Airport manager Garry Goodman said.
OzJet operates a fleet of Boeing 737-200 aircraft, which can carry up to 110 passengers. The service out of Palmerston North would offer business and economy class.
"From our point of view, we're pleased that they're looking to keep growing the business, keep growing passenger numbers and building the service up," Mr Goodman said.
The airport had approached other Australian airlines to find a replacement for Air New Zealand's budget carrier Freedom Air, which stops flying from Palmerston North at the end of March citing a lack of demand. The move was part of Air NZ's revamp of its Tasman and Pacific Island services.
"We have confidence that the numbers are there - what I can't answer is whether an airline can do it profitably or not, that's over to each airline," Mr Goodman said.
There are 750,000 central North Island residents in the Palmerston North Airport catchment.
"I think for the last few years we have not really been capturing the share of the market that we should be able to, and that's a matter for the airline and us sharing similar views about what that opportunity is," Mr Goodman said.
"In the first instance I'm very keen to see growth on the trans-Tasman, but I think there's also opportunities in other sectors for doing much more innovative things."
Revenue from the airline would not be "dissimilar" to fees earned from Freedom Air.
The deal was subject to regulatory approvals.
OzJet, set up by Australian businessman Paul Stoddart, initially offered scheduled all-business class flights between Sydney and Melbourne but discontinued those in 2006 after only three months.
OzJet has since turned its focus to charter flights and also flies from Perth to the northern Australian settlement of Derby and to Bali, and from Norfolk Island to Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney.
"We've looked at their credentials and we're comfortable with what they're doing in Australia, and what their track record and experience is," Mr Goodman said.
- NZPA
