A United States aviation specialist wants to start a new domestic airline by the end of the year.
New Zealand aviation insiders have cast serious doubt on the plan, however.
Patrick Weil said yesterday that Kiwijet would initially fly two Boeing 737-300 aircraft between Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill.
A fare between Auckland and Christchurch would be a flat $150, regardless of when it was bought.
Kiwijet would use the same model as the original budget airline, Southwest Airlines in the United States, something Air New Zealand would not be able to counter, Mr Weil said.
He said he had US$20 million in financial backing from three unidentified private equity investors who wanted to buy Qantas' domestic operation, Jetconnect.
A decision to approach Qantas with the proposal would depend on whether private equity consortium Airline Partners Australia was successful in taking over the Australian national carrier.
"There are a lot of ifs, there is no doubt about it," Mr Weil said.
"But our investors are very keen on what is going on in New Zealand at the moment."
A New Zealand aviation insider said, however, that Mr Weil was a specialist in improving ground-handling services for aircraft, but he did not have experience running an airline.
Mr Weil claims to have been one of the original consultants for high-profile easyJet before that budget airline entered service in Europe in 1995.
He said he became interested in the New Zealand market after becoming involved in a potential rescue of Nelson regional airline Origin Pacific, which closed in August last year.
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