Editorial: Give us competitive airfares

Jetstar may be making flights from Hawke's Bay Airport.

Today is a big day for Hawke's Bay.

Today is the day executives from Jetstar are in town on a fact-finding mission before they make a decision on whether they should start a regional service to Hawke's Bay Airport in direct competition with Air New Zealand.

The irony is that with Air NZ currently holding a monopoly on flights from and to Auckland and Wellington, the Jetstar execs probably had to book tickets on the national carrier to get here.

I don't care how they got here as long as they make the right decision - start a service here and bring much-needed competition to our routes.

Jetstar plans to use a fleet of five 50-seat Bombardier Q300 turbo-prop aircraft to fly to at least four regional centres initially. The airline has indicated that Hawke's Bay is one of the routes it is interested in.

This is not surprising because apparently Napier and Nelson are the two domestic routes where Air NZ makes most of its profit.

From what I have heard, the decision has already been made and we will soon have a regular Jetstar service to and from Hawke's Bay.

It won't be a moment too soon.

People don't agree on many things in this province, be it amalgamation or the Ruataniwha Dam, but one thing everyone agrees on is that the cost of airfares is higher than it should be.

Competition always brings prices down and the days of spending about $500 for a return trip to Auckland will end abruptly if Jetstar comes to town.

This can only be good for a province that needs all the help it can get. Cheaper airfares means businesses that require staff and executives to travel often will be able to be more profitable. Also, it will make our region a more viable option for tourists.

To the Jetstar executives, the region has spoken - what do you say?