Dunedin warms to direct link

By BRIDGET CARTER

Dunedin has come in from the cold with the start of direct daily flights to Auckland.

Yesterday, about 80 sleepy-eyed travellers climbed aboard an Air New Zealand BAe146 at Auckland Airport and flew to Dunedin without stopping in what was the first scheduled trip of the new service.

"Direct is fantastic," said Rebecca Wilson, exhausted after a long flight from the United States. "Sometimes getting out of Dunedin is a nightmare."

Air New Zealand chief executive Gary Toomey said that, as well as being the first direct flight to Dunedin, it was also the first Air New Zealand passenger flight for the plane's crew.

First officer Julian Reynolds and captain Kim Weaver, flying the 94-seat "whisper" jet, said they were two of more than 70 new Air New Zealand flight and cabin crew recruits who lost their jobs when Qantas New Zealand collapsed.

"It is the aeroplane that Qantas New Zealand used to use," said Mr Reynolds.

The new direct service would slice at least 45 minutes off travelling time between Auckland and Dunedin, he said.

Mr Toomey said that previously, competition from Qantas NZ had meant there were too few passengers to justify a direct flight in a larger aircraft.

The whisper jets were originally flown by Ansett New Zealand, then by it successor, Qantas NZ.

After the collapse of Qantas NZ, Air NZ, the owner of the planes through its subsidiary Ansett Australia, took them over.

Mr Toomey said four whisper jets would be flying by the middle of next month under the Air NZ brand, which would provide 2900 extra seats each day.

A second Auckland-Queenstown non-stop flight was being offered with these aircraft.

The whisper jets will also free up smaller aircraft for flights from the main cities to regional centres like Rotorua and Invercargill, he said.

Passenger Nerida Smith, an Otago University lecturer, said the flight's selling point for her was its time-saving.

Further down the aisle was long-time Dunedin resident Neil Harraway. Dunedin deserved a direct flight from Auckland, he said.

"I like to think Dunedin is small but important. The South suffers because of population, even though it contributes a lot."