Grounded or set for take-off?Teaser leaks over Trans-Tasman flights

Thursday, 29 August 2024

A screenshot of an advertisement showing Jetstar will operate a Trans-Tasman link between Dunedin and the Gold Coast.

Dunedin Airport hasn’t had Trans-Tasman flights since 2020, when Virgin Australia suspended its Brisbane service due to the global pandemic.

A promo teaser which was briefly posted online on Tuesday, indicated that another flight may be on the radar.

That promo said Jetstar would fly between Gold Coast and Dunedin.

A Jetstar flight lands at Dunedin Airport

Trans-Tasman flights between Dunedin may resume after a four year absence, not that anyone is officially saying.

On Tuesday a still from a video indicating a new campaign briefly appeared on Dunedin Airport’s Facebook page, before it was grounded.

New Zealand's southern city is pushing for a return of flights from across the Tasman.

It was headlined ‘Direct flights across the ditch are back’ and said Jetstar would operate the route between Dunedin and the Gold Coast from June next year.

Dunedin’s last international flight, a Virgin Australia service to Brisbane, was suspended in 2020 due to the global pandemic but never resumed.

There had been increasing interest in having those flights resume, with Dunedin Airport chief executive Daniel De Bono visiting Australian airports and airline representatives earlier this year.

“I'm still really optimistic we're going to get this deal done,” he told Stuff earlier this year, while confirming Brisbane and the Gold Coast were the top targets.

But when asked about the latest promo, an airport spokesperson told Stuff: “As you know Dunedin Airport has been working hard in the last four years to secure a trans-Tasman service”.

“There are lots of things that have to come together to make that happen, including experimenting with content for social media.”

Daniel De Bono, Dunedin Airport chief executive

The spokesman said there was nothing to announce yet “and we remain positive that the hard work will pay off for everyone”.

Jetstar has been approached for comment.

Benjamin Paterson, 14, takes questions at the Dunedin City Council over his efforts to have international flights reinstated to Dunedin Airport.

Earlier this year a spokesperson for the airline said: “we’re always looking for opportunities to expand our network and offer more low fares for customers”.

Queensland was considered an ideal international getaway for Otago and Southland families seeking sunshine, but was also home to a large number of Kiwis living in the wider area.

De Bono previously told Stuff that Dunedin Airport’s catchment was not just Dunedin, but the wider region.

The airport, which is half owned by the Government and the Dunedin City Council, was to work with other airports in the region including Queenstown and Invercargill.

“Getting people on the aircraft out of Dunedin to go to Australia, that's easy . . . that sells itself, but that won’t be enough of a service to sustain itself,” he said.

“We need Aussies coming the other way.”

The latest twist in the possibility of a return to trans-Tasman flights comes as Benjamin Paterson, 14, fronted a campaign to have those flights reinstated to Dunedin.

Paterson took his campaign to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, a former Air New Zealand chief executive, in April.