Argentina flight opens AKL up as transit hub

Norris Carter.

Airport sees promise in connections.

A direct link to Argentina opens the way for Auckland Airport to be a hub for traffic not only from Australia but also Southeast Asia.

The airport's general manager of aeronautical commercial, Norris Carter, said Auckland offered good connections to southern South America.

Air New Zealand begins return flights to Argentina three times a week next month, a route on which it expects to build up frequency.

Carter said Auckland, mostly an end of the line destination, could be a good transit point.

North Asian traffic was better going over the Northern Hemisphere to the northeast of South America but "our modelling suggests that we should see some connections between Southeast Asia and South America via Auckland."

The company was looking to promote itself as a hub.

"We think there is an opportunity to build up that Auckland hub model. One obvious example is that you can do a connection in Auckland from Brisbane instead of doing it in Sydney."

Passengers would have an international to international connection in smaller, more convenient Auckland instead of a domestic to international in Sydney, he said.

Flights to the bigger Brazil market through Auckland would open up further opportunities for the airport to function as a hub.

Air New Zealand considered flying to Brazil but the flight back would be constrained by the range of aircraft on the return journey.

Carter said new planes - such as the long range version of the Airbus A350XWB to be flown by Singapore Airlines from its base to New York - could open up that possibility.

While Air NZ flights to Argentina were primarily catering to the outbound market from Australasia, there was potential to increase visitors from Latin America.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said the new flights would drive competitive alternatives for the under-serviced Brazilian and Argentinian markets.

"New Zealand currently welcomes around 12,600 visitors from Brazil each year and we have committed to investing ahead of the curve to drive future demand and get Latin Americans thinking about New Zealand as their next holiday destination."