It’s Waikato’s Turn To Pay A Visit, Not A Fortune

It’s Waikato’s Turn To Pay A Visit, Not A Fortune!

Pacific Blue Announces Direct Flights From Hamilton To Brisbane And Sydney
Hamilton - Sydney Direct! On sale from $169*
Hamilton - Brisbane Direct! On sale from $199*

Wednesday 3 June 2009: Pacific Blue has launched a two week sale to celebrate the announcement of its new international direct flights from Hamilton to Australia beginning the first week of September.

At a media launch in Hamilton today the airline announced it will be offering six direct flights from Hamilton to Australia each week – three flights to Sydney and three to Brisbane. Connecting fares will be offered to Perth, Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian and international destinations.

The airline said its regular lead-in fares on the new routes would be at least 25% lower than lead-in fares currently available for connecting flights from Hamilton to Brisbane or Sydney on other airlines.

* Hamilton-Sydney: - Special launch fare of $169* one-way on the internet.
- Regular lead-in fares will start from $199* one-way on the internet.

* Hamilton-Brisbane - Special launch fare of $199* one-way on the internet.
- Regular lead-in fares will start from $229* one-way on the internet.

Fares are on sale from 10am today, with the special launch fares available until midnight 17 June 2009, for travel from 1 September 2009 until 10 December 2009. (* Fares are subject to availability and one-way on the net – $15 more by phone. A credit/debit card fee of $4 per one-way flight applies. Flights are subject to regulatory approval.)

The new services were launched at a special function today at Hamilton Airport that featured Pacific Blue crew in Waikato rugby jerseys, airport staff in red t-shirts, and the clanging of cowbells for which the local rugby supporters known as ‘mooloos’ are famous.

Virgin Blue Group CEO Brett Godfrey said although times were tough the airline was always on the lookout to enter new markets where the business case stacked up.

“Our strategy is always to look for markets that are under-served. As Hamilton currently has no international services in place, it was an obvious opportunity for us,” he said. “The region has a track record of supporting low-fare airlines and we look forward to welcoming the people from Waikato, Bay of Plenty and further afield on board when Pacific Blue flights begin in September.”

Mr Godfrey said the decision to begin services from Hamilton was based partly on the huge support the Waikato business community had shown the airline.

“When our New Zealand team landed at Hamilton Airport a few weeks ago with one of our new Embraer jets we were very encouraged to see a strong turnout from local government and businesses who asked us to consider providing a direct link to Australia. We’re very pleased today to make that request a reality.”

Pacific Blue said to address the strong demand for direct flights to Australia from Hamilton it would redeploy some of its current trans-Tasman capacity to the Waikato city.

Hamilton Airport CEO Chris Doak said the arrival of Pacific Blue in Hamilton would be a tremendous benefit to the local economy.

“The new services will provide local businesses with an easy and affordable option to get to Australia. They will also help us to attract more Australian tourists to the region to enjoy sights such as the world famous Waitomo Caves and events like the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercars.”

ENDS

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