Qantas has hinted at robust growth plans for its dual brand operation in the Kiwi market, and agents will remain central to its proposition.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NZ Airports Hui in Wellington yesterday, QF ceo international and freight Cam Wallace (pictured) says the group has grown its Tasman capacity by 41% post C-19. “And that’s at a time when other airlines have stepped back and our primary competitor has grown by 5%—so our growth has been eight times of our competitor.”
In the last 18 months Wallace says the QF group has opened up a lot of new markets to/from New Zealand, ‘we’re pretty ambitious for our New Zealand business’, he says. “We’ve been growing strongly and we think there’s a good opportunity for us to continue to grow strongly…”
QF is now the largest carrier operating across the Tasman, ‘in terms of destinations, the capacity and the markets we serve’, said Wallace. While high fuel costs are an operational challenge, as fuel costs come down, the carrier will have more flexibility in this region, he adds.
. . . AKL Eastern Hub
Wallace says the success of its AKL New York service has given QF ‘more confidence to look at more ways’ to utilise AKL. “…so you look at American Airlines, they could do more to Dallas, and they would certainly want to do more LA,” Wallace told the delegates. “We’ve got oneworld partners like Fiji Airways and Qatar. So we’re building [a proposition], not just in Auckland but around the country that we think is going to be pretty compelling as we get our new aircraft. And the new aircraft gives us more flexibility and more opportunities to open up new markets—so we’re very motivated about the opportunity that exists in New Zealand…”
When asked about the potential for more services from New Zealand, Wallace declined to comment further.
“I’m not going to talk to you about when and where and how, but that’s something on our radar. And we get more flexibility as the aircraft enter our fleet, giving us more capacity to deploy more aircraft.”
The QF exec says Kiwi travel agents continue to be ‘a really material part’ of its revenue base, especially on new or less obvious routing options. See tomorrow’s issue for more. To hear more from Wallace on QF’s Kiwi plans, click HERE.
