Jetstar will increase services between New Zealand’s three largest cities and add extra flights between Australia and Queenstown when it introduces a ninth aircraft to its New Zealand fleet in November.
From 15 November 2012, up to 36 weekly return flights will be added to the low-cost carrier’s domestic and trans-Tasman routes, increasing capacity by up to 50,000 extra seats every month. The increase follows the arrival of one more Airbus A320, taking Jetstar’s total NZ-based fleet from eight to nine aircraft.
“Jetstar is now firmly established in New Zealand and these additional services follow strong growth for Jetstar services. The ninth aircraft continues our investment in our Kiwi operation,” said David Hall, CEO of Jetstar Australia & NZ. “There will also be new jobs for over 50 Kiwis including pilots, cabin crew and ground crew in our New Zealand team over the coming months as we prepare for the ninth aircraft.”
Jetstar will increase its Auckland-Wellington route from 40 to 60 weekly flights, while the Auckland-Christchurch services will grow from 36 to 43 per week. Wellington-Christchurch flights will increase from 14 to 21 per week. The existing five weekly Queenstown-Christchurch flights however, will be cancelled.
In terms of trans-Tasman routes, Melbourne-Queenstown will increase from three to four weekly flights, while Sydney-Queenstown will rise from two to three flights per week. This will come at the expense of the Melbourne-Christchurch and Gold Coast-Christchurch routes however, which will both be cut by one weekly flight to seven and three flights per week respectively.
