KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand has huge expansion plans for China but won't say whether its forays into the economic powerhouse have been profitable so far.
Air New Zealand began flying to mainland China through Shanghai in 2006 and this year launched a second route to Beijing in July, in time for the Olympic Games.
Shanghai-based regional general manager North Asia, Charles Phelps-Penry, said Air New Zealand saw China as a hugely important market. "China as a market is for New Zealand very important for our future," he said.
The free-trade agreement was very important economically for New Zealand and through growing trade Air New Zealand hoped to cash in on a growing level of air traffic.
China's emerging wealthy middle class also meant it had the potential for huge numbers of travellers.
At the moment Air New Zealand is entitled to seven flights a week into mainland China.
It currently flies three times a week to Shanghai and once a week to Beijing, but wants to increase Shanghai to four times a week and Beijing to three.
Phelps-Penry said it hoped to have daily flights to at least one of the cities within five to six years, depending on demand.
It was also studying the markets of other major cities in China to see whether flights there would be profitable. Air New Zealand was also considering the potential for flying through China to Europe.
"We see that China could become one of the top five visitor arrivals within 10 years," he said.
China was not immune to the world's economic downturn, which could mean timeframes needed to be adjusted. But Phelps-Penry would not say whether the existing service to Shanghai had made a profit. "It is delivering within our expectations," was all he would say, citing commercial sensitivity.
Phelps-Penry said it was difficult to put a timeframe on how long it took for a route to become profitable - some took just six months, others three years.
"We are very prudent, very careful. We are constantly reviewing opportunities. If we didn't think something was working we wouldn't continue it."
* Tamsyn Parker is in Shanghai courtesy of Air New Zealand and Tourism New Zealand.
