Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Irene King: Aviation Commentator on Jetstar making big moves to expand routes in NZ
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Jetstar is lighting a fire under air New Zealand. Biggest
- 0:03Speaker 1: ever expansion here, six hundred thousand extra seats. New routes
- 0:06Speaker 1: like Hamilton to christ Church great for the regions, Seasonal
- 0:09Speaker 1: roots like Queenstown De Brizzy great for tourists Auckland christ Church.
- 0:13Speaker 1: You're getting an extra three hundred thousand seats a year
- 0:16Speaker 1: from eight flights a day up to eleven. Irene Kings
- 0:19Speaker 1: the aviation commentated with us this morning iron good morning.
- 0:22Speaker 2: Good morning there.
- 0:23Speaker 1: They've seen an opening here with these in New Zealand
- 0:25Speaker 1: injury issues you reckon.
- 0:27Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, Look, I think this is a great endorsement
- 0:31Speaker 2: of a recovery in the New Zealand economy from an
- 0:34Speaker 2: international operator that actually understands a lot about the New
- 0:38Speaker 2: Zealand market.
- 0:40Speaker 1: Is it also because they've been I mean I saw
- 0:42Speaker 1: the Quantus results. They've got a bit of cash because
- 0:45Speaker 1: they've been doing pretty well in Asia and other places.
- 0:49Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, you know Quantus's balance sheet has been significantly
- 0:53Speaker 2: strengthening over the last two three years, as opposed to
- 0:58Speaker 2: in New Zealand, who we've seen a significant weekening. We've
- 1:02Speaker 2: also got capacity coming out of Asia as jet Stasia's
- 1:08Speaker 2: shut down, and we've got additional aircraft coming into Quantus
- 1:12Speaker 2: as well, so all of those things are combining and
- 1:17Speaker 2: you know they're really starting to up their game now
- 1:20Speaker 2: in New Zealand.
- 1:21Speaker 1: Does that mean in New Zealand will have to lower
- 1:23Speaker 1: their prices if we have six hundred and sixty thousand
- 1:25Speaker 1: new low con seats.
- 1:27Speaker 2: Oh, look, you know this is a significant change. And yas,
- 1:31Speaker 2: I've felt for quite some time that Any Zealant has
- 1:34Speaker 2: to really come to grips with it's domestic pricing strategies
- 1:38Speaker 2: now that they are subject to significant complaint and the
- 1:43Speaker 2: sustainability when you look at, you know, the options you've
- 1:46Speaker 2: got of traveling across to Australia now really really come
- 1:51Speaker 2: into question.
- 1:53Speaker 1: How much do you think we could be shaving off
- 1:56Speaker 1: the average seat price?
- 1:58Speaker 2: Well, look, you look at what Jetster typically charged in
- 2:04Speaker 2: the New Zealand market, which is just under one hundred
- 2:07Speaker 2: dollars per seat orbit you know jet Sector here, any
- 2:15Speaker 2: Zerment typically when you look at their charges around about
- 2:19Speaker 2: two point fifty. So you know there's a significant price
- 2:23Speaker 2: disparity between the two. Now I understand that the operators
- 2:27Speaker 2: you know, are quite significantly different in the services that
- 2:31Speaker 2: they provide and things like that. But New Zealand is
- 2:34Speaker 2: a price driven sensitive market and even you're seeing, you know,
- 2:40Speaker 2: corporate and business travelers shift onto jetst With this extra
- 2:45Speaker 2: capacity that Jets is putting in the market, that shift
- 2:49Speaker 2: is going to accelerate because every business is now priced sensitive.
- 2:54Speaker 1: I ren appreciate you announced this this morning. Thank you,
- 2:57Speaker 1: Irene King, the aviation commentated Moor.
- 3:00Speaker 2: From early edition with Ryan Bridge.
- 3:02Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks itt B from five am weekdays,
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