Sydney flights bring city $7.3m

Transtasman flights are leading to big business for Rotorua with more then 3000 Australians heading over for conferences.
It's expected the conferences will provide a $7.4 million economic boost to the city.
As a result of direct flights between Rotorua and Sydney Rotorua District Council's Events and Venues staff have booked 12 conferences, to be held over the next three years, with a further eight conference organisers considering Rotorua as a venue.
The 12 booked conferences, the first of which will be held later this year, will attract 3284 Australians.
Events & Venues Rotorua general manager Peter McLeod said quotes had also been provided for a further eight conferences which could attract another 1500 Australians, and bring $3.3 million into the city.
Mr McLeod said he was encouraged by the number of conference bookings.
"It is better than we were expecting. People have responded very quickly."
Most of the conferences were Australasian and so would also attract a New Zealand contingent, he said. Most were of a legal or medical nature.
The conferences will be held at Energy Events Centre or the Rotorua Convention Centre..
Many conferences tended to be held during the middle of the year - the off-season for Rotorua's tourism sector - which would be a boost for the accommodation sector, Mr McLeod said..
 Air New Zealand spokesman Mark Street said the airline had been heavily promoting the Rotorua-Sydney service over summer and was pleased with passenger numbers during that time. The numbers were in line with expectations, he said although he could not disclose exact passenger numbers or forward bookings for commercial reasons.
The transtasman services continued to be heavily marketed in Australia, including in all promotional and sales campaigns for travel over the winter months.
Mr Street said that as with all new services, the focus was on getting the route between Rotorua and Sydney performing well before considering any expansion.
According to Air New Zealand's website many of the cheapest one-way fares, which range from $192 to $242, were still available on most flights.
Rotorua Airport Company chief executive George White said the transtasman flights had been going well and there had been no major teething problems.
"Our focus now is to get the systems and processes we have in place working as efficiently as possible for the benefit of passengers, the airline, our staff and the airport itself."
It was far too early to be considering expanding Air New Zealand flights into other parts of Australia or looking at other airlines.
"We have quite literally just got these flights off the ground and our focus now is on making sure the airport side of things is running smoothly."
However, Mr White said he was confident the airport could look at other Australian destinations in the future.
House of Travel director Pam Turner said the number of inquiries about the transtasman flights was steadily growing and more than expected.