Qantas deal may benefit New Zealand

Qantas Boeing 737-800 departs Queenstown - New Zealand View
By Hannah Edensor


Qantas and American Airlines have announced an expansion of flights across the Pacific which has potential to boost New Zealand tourism.

The new flights will boost air capacity between Australia and the mainland United States by about nine per cent, and some of the extra passengers are expected to travel on to New Zealand.

American Airlines chief executive Doug Parker says customers travelling from North America will have access to nearly 60 additional destinations throughout Australia and New Zealand when connecting from Sydney.

The two airlines also talked about opportunities for future growth into trans-Pacific markets “such as New Zealand” without elaborating.

Qantas and American Airlines have had a joint venture for four years which is now shifting to a revenue-sharing agreement.

American Airlines will start a new direct daily Sydney to Los Angeles service from December 19. This will replace some Qantas B747 Sydney to Los Angeles services but overall the number of flights from Sydney to LA will increase to 17 per week from 14 currently.

The new Sydney to LA route would be flown by American’s flagship Boeing 777-300ER.

Qantas will return to the Sydney to San Francisco route from December 20, ramping up to six flights a week by January using newer-style 747-400 aircraft.

The new Pacific routes operating from December are subject to regulatory approval.

The new direct flight between Sydney and San Francisco on a Qantas Boeing 747 would take around 14 hours.

“This would leave American and Qantas as the biggest players on the Pacific route, taking advantage of the free trade agreement between the two countries,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.

Mr Joyce said a lower Australian dollar should lead to significant growth in the number of Americans flying to Australia.

“We think that has the potential of increasing the demand dramatically,” he said.

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