Auckland Airport responds to Pacific Blue withdrawal from New Zealand domestic services
16-Aug-2010 Auckland Airport today noted with some disappointment the planned withdrawal of Pacific Blue from the New Zealand domestic aviation market in October 2010, but is confident that the ongoing strong growth of the domestic travel market will ensure future customer demand continues to be met.
For the 2010 financial year, revenue from Pacific Blue's domestic travel operations is expected to represent around 1.3% (approximately $2m) of Auckland Airport's total aeronautical revenue. Auckland Airport chief executive, Simon Moutter, said, "Assuming that no other airline picks up this capacity, which we think is quite unlikely, the impact on Auckland Airport will be relatively small."
New Zealand consumers have enjoyed the benefits in recent years of having three domestic airlines competing on the main trunk routes. The additional air services capacity has been a factor in the excellent growth of domestic travel, up 7.8% at Auckland Airport in the 12 months to 30 June 2010.
More New Zealanders are travelling domestically by air than ever before. According to recent research commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism, domestic travel is now worth $12.4 billion a year to the New Zealand economy, compared to $9.3 billion for international travel. The same research indicates that two thirds of New Zealanders want to travel more in New Zealand, illustrating that the domestic travel market growth potential is significant.
"While the departure of these domestic services will have some financial impact, we also believe that there is enough travel demand and growth potential in the domestic market to provide other airlines with a strong business case for taking up the capacity on the main domestic trunk routes left behind by Pacific Blue", said Mr Moutter