Freedom Air To Take On Virgin Blue.
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Freedom Air To Take On Virgin Blue.
In spite of the massive problems at Air NZ, their low cost arm, Freedom Air, is to take on Virgin Blue between Australia and New Zealand, this from today's Singapore Straits Times.............
Kiwi carrier's unit rivals Virgin Blue
AUCKLAND - Air New Zealand's (Air NZ's) discount unit will start flights between Auckland and the Australian city of Newcastle in November, rivalling plans by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Blue to begin offering cheap flights between the two countries.
Freedom Air International, a unit of Air NZ, now operates flights between the New Zealand cities of Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin and Australia's Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Coolangatta.
'We're about to announce an increase in service,' said Freedom Air general manager Wayne Dodge.
'There will be a formal announcement on Monday.'--Bloomberg News
Kiwi carrier's unit rivals Virgin Blue
AUCKLAND - Air New Zealand's (Air NZ's) discount unit will start flights between Auckland and the Australian city of Newcastle in November, rivalling plans by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Blue to begin offering cheap flights between the two countries.
Freedom Air International, a unit of Air NZ, now operates flights between the New Zealand cities of Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin and Australia's Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Coolangatta.
'We're about to announce an increase in service,' said Freedom Air general manager Wayne Dodge.
'There will be a formal announcement on Monday.'--Bloomberg News
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Did you even READ the posting????
Apparently Virgin Blue must intend to begin operating across to New Zealand soon, and Freedom Air are going to take them on over that route. Nobody said they were taking on Virgin Blue IN Australia. However this will surely put a dampener on their first foray at International flights?
Apparently Virgin Blue must intend to begin operating across to New Zealand soon, and Freedom Air are going to take them on over that route. Nobody said they were taking on Virgin Blue IN Australia. However this will surely put a dampener on their first foray at International flights?
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lame buddy, your topic heading suggests that Freedom are taking on Virgin in Australia, because thats the only place Virgin fly IN. (as you put it) Not to push my (petty) point, but how are "Freedom Air to take on Virgin Blue" when Virgin does not compete on ANY Freedom route? Call me when you get some real news.
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I really could not care less whether you believe me or not.
The original news item I posted was, as clearly stated, that they will competing with Virgin Blue between Australia and New Zealand, WHEN Virgin Blue start that run. However I also believe that they may compete directly with Virgin Blue, on some routes in OZ, and NZ if Virgin go there?
Just wait for the official announcement next Monday then?
[ 07 September 2001: Message edited by: lame ]
The original news item I posted was, as clearly stated, that they will competing with Virgin Blue between Australia and New Zealand, WHEN Virgin Blue start that run. However I also believe that they may compete directly with Virgin Blue, on some routes in OZ, and NZ if Virgin go there?
Just wait for the official announcement next Monday then?
[ 07 September 2001: Message edited by: lame ]
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Bring on the competition I say!, as long as the media can honestly portray what is happening the public will see red and fly with virgin.Im sick of Air NZ's attitude and hope they get everything they deserve.ANZ can say what they want but we all know we will be paying higher "subsidies" by flying with their group in the future and whose fault is that??
The sooner Virgin Blue crosses the tassie the better~!
The sooner Virgin Blue crosses the tassie the better~!
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VB have no rights to trans Tasmin with out NZ gov approval. No barriers exist to NZ domestic.The VB carpet-baggers only want the cream, not the cake .Witness what happened in Aus. All cream no cake. Can they make money when their a/c are 5-10 old
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Err, are Freedom going to get sufficient numbers of Novacastrians to travel direct to N.Z. to make it viable?
They might as well go direct Dunedin-Taree...
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"We're not going to make it, Mr. Tracy......."
They might as well go direct Dunedin-Taree...
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"We're not going to make it, Mr. Tracy......."
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BUSINESS
SUNDAY, 09 SEPTEMBER 2001
B U S I N E S S S T O R Y
Hamilton wait-listed as Freedom expands
08 September 2001
By MARY ANNE GILL
Freedom Air says it has no immediate plans to ditch any of its Hamilton flights but will expand its budget transtasman services from November out of Auckland.
The Air New Zealand subsidiary will confirm a new Auckland-Newcastle and return service at a press conference in Auckland on Monday morning.
The first Freedom Air direct flight between Auckland and the New South Wales city will take off on November 12.
The company also intends launching a direct service between the Gold Coast and Auckland. No date has been given. The move comes less than a month after the airline transferred all its operations staff from Hamilton to Auckland.
Freedom Air general manager Wayne Dodge said he was reluctant to say too much until a press conference on Monday. However, he confirmed Auckland was being added to the schedule and that Hamilton still figured in the airline's plans.
"Auckland is a major market," said Mr Dodge.
"Hamilton does pretty well, though – it certainly is (part of) our core business," he added.
The airline earlier this year launched a cut-price domestic service between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch following the collapse of Qantas NZ – its first foray into the metropolitan areas.
The budget airline has been operating transtasman flights for five years linking the provincial centres of Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Coolangatta.
The news came as a surprise to Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Barry O'Connor. "We would hate to think there would be a diminishment of any flights out of Hamilton as a result of this," he said yesterday.
"We are confident our market will support continued flights to Coolangatta. Our concern is to maintain our share. We'll be working to sustain our market and support Freedom."
About 74,000 passengers fly in and out of Hamilton on Freedom each year.
The service was launched in Hamilton in direct competition with the now defunct Kiwi Air.
A study by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation found a new service between Newcastle and New Zealand would generate up to 15,000 passengers a year.
SUNDAY, 09 SEPTEMBER 2001
B U S I N E S S S T O R Y
Hamilton wait-listed as Freedom expands
08 September 2001
By MARY ANNE GILL
Freedom Air says it has no immediate plans to ditch any of its Hamilton flights but will expand its budget transtasman services from November out of Auckland.
The Air New Zealand subsidiary will confirm a new Auckland-Newcastle and return service at a press conference in Auckland on Monday morning.
The first Freedom Air direct flight between Auckland and the New South Wales city will take off on November 12.
The company also intends launching a direct service between the Gold Coast and Auckland. No date has been given. The move comes less than a month after the airline transferred all its operations staff from Hamilton to Auckland.
Freedom Air general manager Wayne Dodge said he was reluctant to say too much until a press conference on Monday. However, he confirmed Auckland was being added to the schedule and that Hamilton still figured in the airline's plans.
"Auckland is a major market," said Mr Dodge.
"Hamilton does pretty well, though – it certainly is (part of) our core business," he added.
The airline earlier this year launched a cut-price domestic service between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch following the collapse of Qantas NZ – its first foray into the metropolitan areas.
The budget airline has been operating transtasman flights for five years linking the provincial centres of Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Coolangatta.
The news came as a surprise to Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Barry O'Connor. "We would hate to think there would be a diminishment of any flights out of Hamilton as a result of this," he said yesterday.
"We are confident our market will support continued flights to Coolangatta. Our concern is to maintain our share. We'll be working to sustain our market and support Freedom."
About 74,000 passengers fly in and out of Hamilton on Freedom each year.
The service was launched in Hamilton in direct competition with the now defunct Kiwi Air.
A study by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation found a new service between Newcastle and New Zealand would generate up to 15,000 passengers a year.
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I can also recall that Coffs Harbour was upgraded to iternational airport status with some flights on a charter basis coming direct from NZ. This happened some years ago after the tower was up and operating and the runaway had been lengthened. Some one might like to comment and add to this topic ?
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RPT2,
the only "international" flight ex CH I'm aware of is the QF charter that took the Wallabys to N.Z.
Lame, let's come back to this thread in 12 months and see how Freedomair goes in Newcastle......
the only "international" flight ex CH I'm aware of is the QF charter that took the Wallabys to N.Z.
Lame, let's come back to this thread in 12 months and see how Freedomair goes in Newcastle......
