Ansett NZ - Air NZ competition: Air NZ upgrades service.. Ansett struggles financially but shows interest in Trans Tasman services

 

This 1991 article reports on Air NZ offering new services to compete with Ansett New Zealand, four years after competition emerges. It applies to economy class passengers on major routes at peak times.  The key improvements are:

• Self-ticketing (paper based because this is well before the internet)
• Valet parking at Auckland Airport
• Issuing of both boarding passes for return trips for those without checked baggage
• Improved domestic meal service supplied by trolley

Ansett New Zealand reported that it would offer all passengers a hot meal service and free wine on evening flights. 

In 1993 it was reported that Ansett New Zealand was losing around $700,000-$1m a week ($1.4m-$2m in 2023 dollars), but there was no indication that the company was pessimistic about its future. The airline was at the time fully owned by TNT and NewsCorp. The airline at this time had transitioned to flying BAe 146 jetliners (known popularly as "whisper jets"). Air NZ reportedly had 60% of the main trunk domestic market (Ansett the remainder).  The article claims that growth in the market will be insufficient to make Ansett NZ profitable, primarily because the market wasn't big enough for two carriers.  The report noted the airline had not indicated it would fly Trans-Tasman noting a key barrier to it was its interest in flying between its own terminals on both sides of the Tasman (none of which have customs/immigration facilities).  Noting the airline had lost over $200m since it had been set up.

Finally it was reported that Ansett NZ wished to fly Trans Tasman in 1994, noting that even if it could not fly between its domestic terminals it would still set up operations. It was said that a key reason Ansett NZ remained operating domestic services was the interest Ansett had generally in operating Trans-Tasman flights and how they could all support and feed into each others' networks.