Airport aspires to NZ service
CHARLES WATERHOUSE
September 29, 2009 08:56am
HOBART Airport is continuing to work towards the possible re-establishment of a regular service to New Zealand.
The airport has been talking with its counterparts in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.
In 1998 Air New Zealand ended a Hobart-Christchurch service that had operated for 17 years.
In its final years the service ran weekly from October until the end of summer.
The only international direct flights from Hobart Airport now are Australia's Antarctic flights.
But Hobart Airport CEO Brett Reiss said the airport had aspirations to international regular services in future.
Mr Reiss said if such a service eventuated it would probably be to Auckland.
"We are a capital-city airport but effectively serving a regional population," he said.
Until taking up his current position Mr Reiss was commercial services and airport planning general manager at Christchurch International Airport.
He said Christchurch had about 360,000 people and the Hobart region about 200,000.
"The two population centres aren't quite big enough to establish a daily service, certainly not," he said.
"Somewhere like Auckland with 1.5 million people allows you that critical mass you need, you get far more demand."
Mr Reiss said most talk about a New Zealand service had been with the airports.
"Auckland remains a target and we've had some reasonable discussions with the airport and some initial discussions with an airline," he said.
Hobart Airport and border agencies have discussed the potential for an overseas service starting as early as 2010. |
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