Newe airline link could be tourism booster for region

AN Australian airline poised to take over trans-Tasman flights at Palmerston North airport could also bring economic bounty to Wanganui.
The three-year-old airline, OzJet, will replace Freedom Air's operation at the airport from March 31 providing links with both Brisbane and Sydney.
OzJet commercial general manager Matt Payne said the airline had decided to take on the service last year, after the looming withdrawal of Freedom Air saw Palmerston North chief executive Garry Goodman take a road show to Australia to find an airline that would come on board.
"OzJet saw it was an opportunity to come in and fill that void," Mr Payne said.
With a strong regional background and a business model of "growth through partnership", OzJet's first foray into commercial operations here has seen it already approach regional tourism and local development boards.
The idea: to establish solid grass-roots partnerships to make the venture sustainable.
The approach has served the airline well it recently won a local government and commercial enterprise partnership aware, beating out 400 other Australian businesses.
Mr Payne said OzJet was "very aware" Palmerston North was also a gateway to regions such as Wanganui, Taranaki, Rangitikei and the Hawke's Bay he estimates a third of travellers travelling from New Zealand come from Wanganui, New Plymouth and Levin, the remainder flying from the Manawatu and Hawke's Bay.
Its plan was to co-promote sectors such as tourism, business, trade and leisure and reach out to the family and relationship markets - an approach encouraged by its discussions with local boards.
With many New Zealanders living in Brisbane and Sydney, the airline could provide homesick Kiwis' with a link home, as well as facilitate local government relationships between New Zealand and Australia through planned trips.
The airline, which started life as a business class carrier, planned to re-establish a catered business and economy service to Australia.
"We need to reach out to the business sector to understand how we can deliver a product that suits the business market," Mr Payne said.
The Wanganui region would also probably feature in OzJet's service-side inflight magazine and be represented at a Consumer Show in Sydney which the airline would attend soon.
Mr Payne estimated there was a 20 percent growth opportunity for the New Zealand service.
Wanganui Inc economic development manager John Quigley was excited about the OzJet visit and said they had asked all the right questions about how they could meet the region's needs.
The airline provided a quality service focused on providing value and thought it was positive that it would also include departure tax in its ticket price.