Wellington Airport is excited by the arrival of Pacific Blue’s Brazilian-made Embraer 190 E-Jet into New Zealand.

“Competition brings down fares and stimulates travel, with huge benefits for regional tourism and business. This aircraft opens up the potential for routes such as Wellington to Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown and Hamilton to enjoy explosive growth,” said Steven Fitzgerald, CEO.

In the months following Pacific Blue’s arrival on the main trunk in November 2007, travel to Auckland and Christchurch increased by up to 30%. Over the last financial year, domestic passengers at Wellington Airport increased 5.2% to 4.6 million due to the introduction of Pacific Blue domestic services and the other airlines’ competitive response.

The arrival of the 104-seat jet at Wellington today is part of an around New Zealand tour to test the aircraft in New Zealand and to gauge feedback on suitability for operations.

“This could provide very important stimulation of demand in the regions and a boost to domestic tourism in a general economic downturn,” he said.

Wellington Airport released its draft Master Plan to 2030 last week. This forecast passenger numbers to double to over 10m by 2030, generating an additional 11,500 jobs and $1.6 billion in annual output for the Wellington region.

“The Wellington region would benefit enormously by competition and better connectivity to the regions and to Australia and the Pacific,” said Mr Fitzgerald.

Trans-Tasman routes have remained competitive at Wellington during the last financial year. In particular, the Brisbane route has benefitted from additional capacity from both Pacific Blue and Air New Zealand with the passenger numbers up by 27%.

Wellington Airport’s continued investment in quality airport infrastructure has been vital in enabling new services to the Wellington market. Competition between airlines ensures that visitors and Wellingtonians are offered the competitive air fares that are crucial to tourism, business and the Wellington lifestyle.

“We are committed to continuing to play a key role in attracting new services to Wellington,” said Mr Fitzgerald.

ENDS