Qantas is working on a plan to significantly boost its role in New Zealand but for now the details are under wraps.
The Australian airline's executive general manager John Borghetti was in Auckland last week to meet thelocal management team and work out what improvements were needed to
strengthen Qantas' position.
"We are committed to New Zealand looking to improve and expand - it's certainly not the other way around."
"Stay tuned," he said when asked what form those plans might take.
Qantas' growth plans have been constrained for the past two years by access to new planes. The delay of the Airbus A380 - of which it has ordered 20 - has put pressure on capacity. The A380s will not be flying to New Zealand but their arrival - and the arrival of the first Boeing 787s next year - will free capacity and enable the airline to begin expanding again in markets such as New Zealand.
Borghetti says that doesn't mean we can expect to see Qantas flying more long-haul routes out of New Zealand.
It now flies from Auckland to Los Angeles but while routes like Auckland to Singapore had been investigated they did not look economically viable at present.
But New Zealand remained a very important market for Qantas, he said.
The transtasman route was a profitable one and despite an industry perception that the airline had been distracted this year with the failed APA takeover bid, it was not fair to suggest Qantas had taken focus off New Zealand.
Some analysts have suggested it is likely to boost flights of its cut-price Jetstar brand across the Tasman - possibly at the expense of its premium service. But while Borghetti agreed there was scope to grow Jetstar, it would be wrong to assume that would be at the expense of the Qantas brand, he said.
"In fact, quite the opposite. There is every reason to invest in the brand. To that end, you will see us in the next 12 months becoming more visible and more proactive."
