Air wars pulverise transtasman fares

By JULIE MIDDLETON

How low can you go? Auckland to Sydney for $119, according to Air New Zealand - and it will throw in dinner, drinks and a movie.

In the latest round of the transtasman air wars, Air NZ yesterday started offering the special fare from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. You have to book by next Tuesday and travel between July 1 and August 31.

Qantas followed suit, matching Air New Zealand's offer. Then Air New Zealand's no-frills arm, Freedom Air, joined the chase, announcing Christchurch-Gold Coast fares of $119 for travel between July 1 and September 16.

Shane Parlato, the national marketing manager of the country's largest travel chain, Flight Centre, says the fares are "unbelievably cheap. This time a year ago it was $529 return [to Australia]".

The battle for consumer affection appears to be centred on Christchurch, where newcomers Pacific Blue and Emirates focus much of their effort.

Basic-service newcomer Pacific Blue, which presently flies to Australia only from Wellington and Christchurch, was yesterday offering internet shoppers one-way tickets to Sydney for $179 from Christchurch and $139 from Wellington.

Emirates will fly Christchurch to Melbourne three times a week from June 11. Although fares are yet to be announced, it is likely the airline will kickstart the service with one-off, low promotional fares.

When Pacific Blue launched in February, it offered one-way transtasman flights for $99, which Air New Zealand came close to matching.

Air NZ's general manager of Pacific Islands and New Zealand sales, Roger Poulton, says he anticipated that other carriers would try to match the $119 fare.

But whether such fares reappear in future "depends on market demand".

But there are catches in the plane-ticket battle - additional taxes and levies that are not advertised in the same bold print as the fare.

To the $119 Air NZ ticket you need to budget for an insurance surcharge of $16, a $1.78 Civil Aviation Authority passenger levy and, on jets, a Government levy of $2.50.

Nor do tickets include departure tax, now $25 each time you leave Auckland Airport for overseas.

All up, your $119 ticket will cost $164.

The return journey by Air New Zealand also costs $119, but Australian departure taxes are far heftier beasts than the local versions - and their cost is not outlined in the fine print.

For example, arriving at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, you pay an insurance surcharge of $16 and a noise tax of $4. It costs $44.50 in airport charges plus a further $43.40 in Government tax to leave Sydney.

Your $119 ticket rises to $226.90.

Departing Brisbane, you fork out taxes and charges totalling an extra $88.70, and $90.60 at Melbourne.

Mr Poulton says that as taxes vary between Australian airports, and New Zealand's exchange rate fluctuates, the cost of taxes are not stated for "simplicity".

Mr Parlato says New Zealand is "the last country in the world" where prices are advertised exclusive of various taxes, charges and levies. But he thinks most New Zealanders are used to this, and don't take advertising bold print as the last word.

Latest airfares

Auckland-Sydney: $119 one way

With taxes (from Auckland): $164

With taxes (from Sydney): $226.90