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Post by vgp on May 9, 2008 13:31:47 GMT 12
Pacific Blue lifts fares and cuts flights By ROELAND VAN DEN BERGH - The Dominion Post | Friday, 09 May 2008 Pacific Blue is quietly increasing its domestic fares and will cut back its flights to Wellington. The budget airline added between $4 and $10 to fares this week because of higher fuel costs, making its cheapest standard fares the most expensive on the market. Pacific Blue spokesman Phil Boeyen said the increase took effect on Monday. "We absorbed the increases for as long as we could." Airfares between the main centres had fallen 20 per cent when Pacific Blue entered the market, leading to a 30 per cent growth in passenger numbers, he said. Air New Zealand announced an average 3 per cent fare increase last month, its second in as many months. Pacific Blue would also reduce its daily service between Wellington and Auckland to make way for a service between Christchurch and Dunedin, starting July 1. Despite the change, the airline was yesterday still selling five flights a day between Auckland and Wellington on its website. "That is in the throes of being changed," Mr Boeyen said. A seventh Boeing 737-800 due next month was expected to boost Pacific Blue's domestic and trans-Tasman services. It would now be used on the Tasman and Pacific Island routes. Pacific Blue commercial general manager Adrian Hamilton-Manns also dismissed recent suggestions that one of the three domestic airlines would be forced out of the market in the near future as fuel costs continued to climb. Mr Hamilton-Manns said a lack of competition had constrained the domestic aviation market. "You can't base your judgment on historical viewpoints of legacy airlines charging a fortune to fly domestically." There were three airlines on the main trunk route; Air New Zealand dominated the rest of the market or faced competition by Qantas. "It's gone exactly as planned," he said. "We knew we were getting into a hostile environment, and we have committed to New Zealand for the long term." www.stuff.co.nz/marlboroughexpress/4516622a6425.html |
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Post by nzompilot on May 9, 2008 14:23:51 GMT 12
Story started with Air New Zealand attacking Pacific Blue over the issue before Pacific Blue's responce in the above story - from the Australian www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23667354-23349,00.html |
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Post by vgp on May 9, 2008 17:23:53 GMT 12
web text from nzompilot link above - thanks nzompilot:
Air NZ lashes out in Pacific Blue dogfight
AIR New Zealand yesterday took off the gloves in its fight with rival Pacific Blue, accusing the Australian-backed airline of misleading travellers and selling seats that do not exist.
In an attack reminiscent of Australia's low-cost bloodbath earlier this decade, New Zealand's national carrier also claimed Pacific Blue was trying to hide a 10 per cent increase in fares while at the same time misleading customers about the true cost of tickets.
Emphasising it had no plans to follow the 10 per cent fare rise, Air NZ said Pacific Blue's price hike came despite comments by commercial general manager Adrian Hamilton in mid-March that the Virgin Blue subsidiary had no plans to raise prices and that rising fuel costs were not an issue.
It said a schedule change that reduced Auckland-Wellington capacity from five to four services per day had been changed in the distribution system used by travel agents but not on the airline's website.
Air NZ group general manager, short haul airline, Bruce Parton accused Pacific Blue of misleading the New Zealand public and its own customers.
"Hundreds of customers have made travel plans that cannot be fulfilled. And to also vehemently say that you won't raise fares and then turn around a few weeks later and do so on the quiet is incredibly deceptive," he said.
"I am also concerned by the airline's price advertising. Pacific Blue, like many low-cost carriers including Jetstar, places a 'credit card surcharge' on to international airfares purchased over the internet. Jetstar, and previously (Air NZ subsidiary) Freedom Air, offers customers alternative forms of payment such as internet banking so they don't have to pay the credit card surcharge," Mr Parton said.
"Pacific Blue, however, does not offer an alternative form of payment through their website, therefore customers who wish to purchase online have no choice but to pay the additional $NZ4 per sector charge."
Virgin Blue yesterday described the Kiwi outburst as "curious" and said the New Zealand carrier's close attention clearly indicated that Pacific Blue was a nuisance.
"We have reluctantly raised some but not all fares by between $NZ4 to $NZ10 due to extreme increases in fuel costs, and there's no secret about that nor our determination to ensure New Zealanders enjoy consistently affordable fares after being ripped off for such a long time," said Virgin spokeswoman Heather Jeffery.
"The majority of Pacific Blue domestic fares across the board are still considerably cheaper than Air New Zealand's right up to our very highest fare of $NZ299 compared to their highest of $NZ643."
Ms Jeffery said Air NZ's accusations about Pacific Blue's domestic schedule were a beat-up. Pacific Blue was updating its website and was contacting any travellers who had booked on the service after July 1, but this was only a handful of people who would be offered a full refund or a credit flight.
"We note Air New Zealand's cheap shot and note for their benefit that people in glass houses ... beware," she said.
Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said: "I bet if Air New Zealand had even bothered to forward this allegation to the New Zealand Commerce Commission, they'd fall about laughing and their likely response would be 'thank you for wasting our time'.
"It's a minor, honest and insignificant mistake, unlike Air New Zealand who not so long ago were fined $600,000 by the NZCC for misleading New Zealand consumers about the real price of their airfares."
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Post by nzompilot on May 15, 2008 9:54:47 GMT 12
Travel changes likely
By ALAN WOOD - The Press | Thursday, 15 May 2008
Fuel hikes for airlines are leading to fare increases which, if sustained, will change passenger destination choices, the travel industry says.
Industry players say airlines want to avoid empty seats so with higher fuel costs there will be less long-haul travel and some consolidation of trans-Tasman routes.
Passengers were probably already dropping longer-haul flights to Europe in favour of maintaining their annual holiday to Queensland, one airline said.
The fuel issue has also seen another change: airlines have become even more combative than usual.
Last week Air New Zealand issued a press release saying Pacific Blue had "quietly increased its domestic New Zealand airfares by up to 10 per cent" and made other claims about the airline's pricing strategy.
In response, Pacific Blue said the national airline was being hypocritical, given its high pricing history and was being rattled by competition.
Pacific Blue chief executive John Bartlett said Air New Zealand was "a bunch of wusses and cry babies - their approach seems to be that if you can't beat em, whinge at them."
Pacific Blue entered the domestic New Zealand market in November on routes between Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland and plans to include Dunedin from July 1.
The airline also plans extra Pacific routes and Auckland to Queenstown routes from late June.
"In a way the market has moved and a lot of people are seeing a winter holiday once a year as part of their life.
"They may not be doing the whole Europe thing as often as they used to," Pacific Blue communications manager Phil Boeyen said.
House of Travel retail director Brent Thomas said given much of longer-haul travel was paid for in advance, there had been no fallout in bookings at a time of softer retail sales.
The travel agency's sales were up 15 per cent year on year, and the number of passengers booking through HOT were up 19 per cent, helped by an increase in market share, he said.
Looking forward, holidaymakers would travel as far as existing budgets let them.
"We're still seeing the trend of people going to Australia for short breaks, (instead) of a long holiday. We don't see that changing next year at all."
Christchurch travel agent Warwick Beatson said people's annual holiday trips abroad, and especially to Australia, would continue to be driven by high investment by airlines and hotels, despite the fuel challenge.
"There's not going to be a time that comes when you won't be able - not in our lifetime - to go to Australia," Beatson said.
"But there's one thing for sure - (the airlines) won't be taking those planes out half empty like they always used to.
"There won't be a seat available, and I don't think there will be the same degree of traffic on any particular route in three or four years as we see today."
Air New Zealand deputy chief executive Norm Thompson said in long-haul travel, there had been some softening in markets connected with the "economic crunch" traced back to US.
Despite the fuel increases, there had been no real changes to travel patterns at this point.
But people's response to any increased prices would be elastic, he said.
"At some point in time, just through market economics, there will be a point where the consumer will either say that's too expensive, I'll do something else with my money or go (travel) else ...
"You might see some more domestic travel being stimulated or trans-Tasman being stimulated."
Interesting to see the mention of Pacific Blue adding AKL-ZQN from late June - first mention I've seen of this route
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Post by nzompilot on May 15, 2008 10:07:43 GMT 12
On futher digging this seems to be a typo on the papers behalf and should be extra capacity on the Auckland - Queensland (Brisbane/Gold Coast) routes not Queenstown
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Post by flyjoe180 on May 15, 2008 10:43:54 GMT 12
I researched airfares recently between Sydney and Brisbane. I was very surprised to find that QANTAS were the cheapest, by a large margin over the so called 'budget' airlines.
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Post by vgp on May 15, 2008 12:13:02 GMT 12
Its more a matter of Pay more get less with the as above so called 'budget' airlines last few years of Freedom their was no difference in price between air new zealand and freedom only service and lack of leg room on the yellow bus.
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Post by globemaster on May 15, 2008 13:08:19 GMT 12
Auckland-Queenstown....I was gonna say ! Though notice how Virgin Blue hav a number of B738s operating over the ditch in Pacific Blue livery  |
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