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Australia-New Zealand new airline entries lead to discounts

New airline entries in Australia and New Zealand are triggering a wave of deep discounting, as predicted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, as airlines jostle for PR supremacy and bookings in this…

New airline entries in Australia and New Zealand are triggering a wave of deep discounting, as predicted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, as airlines jostle for PR supremacy and bookings in this crucial phase, pre-Tiger launch.

Jetstar celebrates its third anniversary of the launch of services with a high profile offer of 130,000 seats for sale – with some companion fares as low as USD2.50 per sector – inclusive of taxes – on many domestic, trans-Tasman and international routes (for travel between 16-Oct-07 and 12-Dec-07).

Jetstar’s headline grabber pre-empts Tiger Airways’ planned announcement today of its choice of base – expected to be Melbourne Tullamarine – and route network, which will initially include Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide. Virgin Blue retaliated to Jetstar’s announcement with 25% off all blue saver (discount) fares (for travel between 19-May-07 to 21-Jun-07, and 24-Jul-07 to 06-Setp-07), while Qantas has also launched a 5-day domestic fare sale (for travel between 17-Jul-07 and 19-Sep-07).

The frenzy is set to cross the Tasman, with confirmation that a new LCC, kiwijet, based on the Southwest Airlines` business model, plans to take to the skies in Dec-07, initially offering domestic services between Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. Longer-term plans include uncontested trans-Tasman routes, including Wellington-Canberra, Auckland-Newcastle, Christchurch-Hobart and Rotorua-Sydney.

Meanwhile, the Qantas takeover is delicately poised ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for the bidding group to achieve acceptances by 50% of shareholders to its offer. But the ructions taking place in the market are unlikely to have much impact on the result, which will be largely played out by the hedge funds. The smart money is on the threshold being acheived – and the deal going ahead. But it may be a close thing.

Vicky Karantzavelou
Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Articles

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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