Air NZ spoof ad annoys rivals

Air New Zealand's latest marketing campaign is a website which lampoons budget airlines. Photo / Supplied

A "tongue-in-cheek" advertising campaign by Air New Zealand lampooning budget carriers has been labelled a waste of taxpayers' money by opposition airlines.

Air New Zealand has confirmed it is behind the website, www.saverjet.com, a fictitious airline which charges customers to place feedback, has unavailable flights and charges hidden fees.

The airline's marketing manager, Jules Lloyd, said the "tongue-in-cheek campaign" was designed to raise awareness of the hidden fees that low-cost carriers charge.

"We think this is a humorous and light hearted-way that would get people thinking about the real cost of a 'cheap' flight prior to the booking."

However one budget carrier spokesman slammed the campaign labelling it a waste of taxpayers' money and "a bit try-hard".

"It's definitely over the top and a bit rich coming from an airline that till recently operated the low-cost carrier Freedom Air." said Phil Boeyen, of Pacific Blue.

He said the airline appreciated the joke as much as anyone but it was clear Pacific Blue was "getting under their skin".

Jetstar Airways spokesman Simon Westaway said the airline was aware of the campaign and "found it funny" but questioned its relevance.

"Why would the major airline in New Zealand spend hard-earned revenue in times of economic difficulty... we question where their main focus is."

Air New Zealand declined to say how much they spent on the campaign, citing commercial sensitivity but said "it was created on a shoe-string budget". Asked whether it was appropriate for the national carrier to take potshots about other carriers on the transtasman route given recent announcements over the suspension of flights from Dunedin and Hamilton, the airline said it was.

Only after it had more than 13,000 hits since it debuted last week, was Air New Zealand's involvement in the campaign revealed.

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES