Freedom Air Scores In Inaugural Website Rankings

Friday, 24 August 2001, 11:26 am
Press Release: Freedom Air

Media release
22 August 2001

Value-based airline Freedom Air has been ranked the second most popular travel and transport website in the country in inaugural ratings from web ranking service Hitwise.

Freedom Air ranked second (behind parent company Air New Zealand) in the Hitwise Top 10 quarterly awards for travel and transport, based on user visits. The period monitored was April-June this year. Hitwise originated in Australia, opened its New Zealand service earlier this year and is now due to expand to the UK and Asia. In New Zealand, it tracks more than 100,000 of the most popular websites each day, as visited by more than 150,000 New Zealanders. The service is independent and is based solely on visit data, not feedback or opinion.

Wayne Dodge, Freedom Air vice-president/general manager, says www.freedomair.com and its booking facilities have long been a key strategic asset. Online bookings currently make up half of all Freedom Air reservations. “Booking online allows people to easily access our cheapest fares and make their own travel arrangements quickly and effectively,” Dodge says. “It is also a cost-effective way for us to collect bookings.”

Hitwise, at www.hitwise.co.nz, bills itself as a “leading on line competitive intelligence service”, giving strategists, agencies and analysts real-time insights on the online competitive environment. It measures visits, visit duration and page downloads from a range of diverse ISP networks.

ends

Freedom Air started operating as a trans-Tasman carrier in November 1995, offering value-based services. Over the years, it has refined its no-frills service to continually pass savings on to customers.

For further information, please contact:

Wayne Dodge
Vice President/General Manager
Freedom Air
Tel: + 64 9 912 6980

Claudia Macdonald/Kareen Floyd
WRC
Tel: + 64 9 306 1804
Mob: 025 932 418/025 831 466

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