Air NZ: Tasman Networks Agreement

Tasman Networks Agreement

Air New Zealand advises that it has decided to withdraw its application to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Ministry of Transport (MOT) for approval to operate a codeshare with Qantas on trans-Tasman routes.

Air New Zealand’s review of the recent draft judgement from the ACCC gives it little confidence that its views will be given any weight when the final ACCC judgement is delivered.

There is a path to appeal the ACCC decision and Air New Zealand is mindful that the Australian Competition Tribunal over-turned the previous ACCC negative judgement in regard to Qantas and Air New Zealand. The costs of further delay and uncertainty are now too high in dealing with the business imperatives in the intensely competitive trans-Tasman market.

To survive in this market Air New Zealand must be fast, nimble and innovative; adapting its business model to address challenges and opportunities. Air New Zealand remains of the view that the proposed codeshare was in the best interests of its customers, was the best solution to address the surplus capacity on the Tasman and gave it the best options for retaining the current low fare structure.

Air New Zealand has developed a number of strategies to become more competitive over the past three years, improving its product and service, reducing costs and aligning capacity to the routes that offer the greatest growth potential.

Air New Zealand has implemented a range of initiatives to improve the airline’s performance on the Tasman over the past year and it will continue to target further performance improvements in the future.

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