New Airline Presence in Wellington Offers Star Potential

The arrival of Jetstar’s first domestic flight into Wellington this morning signals a vibrant and exciting future for Wellington tourism.

From today Jetstar will operate two daily return services between Wellington and Auckland, and will add another Auckland service and one daily Christchurch service starting 24 June 2009.

Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) Chief Executive David Perks said Jetstar was a new airline for Wellington and their low cost fares and aggressive marketing strategy offered an exciting opportunity for the city and its visitors.
“The spotlight is currently on tourism to turn the New Zealand economy around and the vigorous competition we are seeing is vital to making that happen. Airlines like Jetstar are stimulating demand and adding to the schedule, meaning services are even more regular and convenient.”

While Jetstar’s current services into the capital cover solely domestic routes, the airline operates a number of trans-Tasman services out of Christchurch and Auckland, Mr Perks aid.

“Australia is a major focus for us right now and the more desire for Wellington we create, the more seats and choices travellers are going to need. We obviously hope Jetstar is investigating that opportunity and more direct services from further afield will be added in the future.”

Jetstar’s international fleet is also planned to extend to include 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners – a long haul aircraft.

“By 2015 we aim to have a southeast Asian direct service into Wellington. Jetstar is one of a number of airlines who could potentially provide that service.”

* Pacific Blue today revealed it would be introducing the new Sydney-Wellington service in September. See accompanying release for comment and details.