With Pacific Blue to provide details of its entry into the New Zealand air travel market today, speculation is mounting that another major player is also eyeing this country.
Singapore budget airline Tiger Airways is due to start flying in Australia with five aircraft in November.
Centre for
Asia Pacific Aviation managing director Peter Harbison said he expected Tiger to fly the Tasman and enter the New Zealand domestic market by the middle of next year at the latest.
A Wellington newspaper today reported him saying the South Pacific aviation market was in for a major shakeup during the next year.
Air New Zealand's lack of an Australian network could leave it exposed, Mr Harbison said.
Pacific Blue is due to reveal the details of launch routes, fares and long term strategy of "New Zealand's new domestic airline" in Wellington at 10am.
Air NZ shares declined 14.5 per cent during the past two days on the threat of a price war. Yesterday they dropped 14c to $2.
Meanwhile, Kiwijet, the airline company planning Nelson's first commercial jet service says Pacific Blue's announcement could mean a rethink of some of the routes it planned.
Kiwijet wants to fly seven Christchurch-based, 50-seater Embraer 145 jets between nine cities, including Nelson.
"We'll adopt a wait-and-see approach, but it's all very good for New Zealand air travellers. There's probably going to be a shooting war with fares," Kiwijet chief executive Patrick Weil told The Nelson Mail.
Air NZ has largely had the domestic market to itself since the collapse of Nelson-based Origin Pacific a year ago, and the retrenchment of Qantas' New Zealand operations to the Wellington-Auckland route.
- NZPA
