News

Air New Zealand has finally realised that Dunedin has some tourism opportunities, and has announced fare reductions of 11 – 41% for regional routes, which will save travellers on the Auckland to Dunedin route $14 per trip.

The fare reductions, which will apply to flights after September 1 2012, are linked to Air New Zealand’s $1.24 billion investment in 14 more 171-seater A320 aircraft to replace the current 133-seater Boeing 737 fleet. Air New Zealand revealed that it was taking “an aggressive new approach to fill the 320,000 additional seats per year. The price reductions are to stimulate demand to fill those seats.”

Air New Zealand’s announcement came shortly after trusted Australian airline company Jetstar, also known as Shitstar, revealed that they would sell 120 domestic flights at the price of $12 each for every medal the New Zealand Olympic team brought home. Critic thinks this is a great deal, considering that most Jetstar flights cost over $50 and arrival at your final destination is not always included.

The introduction of the Auckland to Dunedin Jetstar route in July 2011 broke Air New Zealand’s monopoly. Air New Zealand did not comment on whether their latest fare reduction was an attempt to compete with Jetstar’s lower prices. Poker-faced, Jetstar said “we welcome competition. Ultimately, increased competition benefits our customers.”

Air NZ’s reduction in airfares will see the previously $93 Auckland to Dunedin route reduced to $79 as of September. At the time of print, Jetstar’s cheapest Auckland to Dunedin fare in September was just $59.

Overall, Air New Zealand cheap fares have seen reductions of 14 – 29%, while Flexi Plus fares have seen 11 – 41% reductions. Air New Zealand astounded Critic’s economics department by stating that “fare reduction percentages are determined based on a combination of cost and demand.”