Qantas may replace its transtasman services with its Jet Star brand.
Air New Zealand has limited options for any radical overhaul of its transtasman services, industry analysts say.
Last week it cut its capacity on the Tasman, partly in response to the failure of its proposal to share services with Qantas.
But chief executive Rob Fyfe has warned those
cuts may just be the start as a wider review of Tasman routes is under way.
Air New Zealand is making no further comment on what sort of options the review will consider.
Industry analysts the Business Herald spoke to last week said the airline faced some difficult issues if it diverted from its present model.
There is some consensus that it can't afford to just keep cutting capacity on the route as that would eventually open the door to competitors.
Many are tipping Qantas will look to dramatically cut its services over the Tasman but will replace them with its lower-priced Jet Star brand.
But it will be difficult for Air New Zealand to follow that strategy using its own cut-price Freedom brand. Unlike Qantas, it has not developed such an individual brand identity for its cut-price carrier.
That doesn't mean it can't go down that road but it would represent something of a u-turn on the strategy of the past two years.
One even more radical option might be to cut prices on all Air New Zealand Tasman services by removing business-class seats, charging for meals and drinks and treating the three-hour flight as an extension of the domestic service.
That would certainly lower the cost base but would require clever brand management to ensure it didn't damage the airline's lucrative premium offerings on its long-haul routes.
One option that Air New Zealand has so far ruled out but which some analysts believe must remain on the agenda is the possibility of trying for a code share with another, smaller competitor.
Anyone other than Qantas would have a reasonable chance of getting regulatory approval.
Analysts say talking to Virgin, which runs Pacific Blue, would make most sense. But even Emirates could be considered.
But most analysts still feel falling fuel prices and growing visitor numbers will take the pressure of Air New Zealand as it tries to extract more profit from the Tasman.
