The news that Qantas is adding an extra 60,000 seats on Tasman routes for the Dec-Jan peak is the latest in a sustained and strategic play for more Tasman market share, says aviation observers.
The airline group is set to operate record levels of Tasman capacity across its QF and Jetstar brands over the festive peak and, claims QF, more capacity than Air New Zealand. “The QF group’s dual brand strategy is strong—with JQ launching their international services into Hamilton and Dunedin next month,” says WSP’s aviation executive Gareth Williamson. “Schedule choice is a massive advantage both for connections, but also for customers looking for alternatives to 6am departures and midnight arrivals into New Zealand, win-win.” Williamson says the latest QF move, hot on the heels of announcing two new Tasman routes this month, is the continuation of a strong theme throughout 2024/25 with the QF group ‘effectively driving all the growth on the Tasman’. QF is maximising the Tasman opportunity, while NZ deals with fleet challenges and Virgin Australia shows no desire to operate beyond Queenstown..
. . . Swing Capacity?
Another local industry observer believes this could just be the start of strategic QF moves in this region, as additional aircraft arriving give QF more network flexibility. NZ boss Greg Foran has said it is dealing with its Pratt and Whitney engine issue quicker than expected, however QF’s A321-XLR fleet will start entering service mid-2025. “QF really hasn’t paid this much attention to the Tasman in the past, and it’s possibly no coincidence that the move comes with Cam Wallace on board [at QF]. But it looks like the market is performing for QF, and it could be an interesting couple of years,” he says. “Once those new A321-XLRs start arriving, QF will look at where to redeploy some of those older aircraft. They’re not going to dump capacity on their domestic [Aussie] market, so it will give them swing capacity flexibility on the Tasman and Pacific islands.” QF has also signalled its intention to develop Auckland as an eastern hub, and is investing heavily in a new lounge at AKL, and indications are that we could see more services routed via AKL, says the industry observer.
