It has been interesting reading the comments about the demise of Fly My Sky and people's preference for whichever airline. People will always have their preferences. The reality is NZ is small for two airlines - Ansett tried and failed. Qantas tried and failed. Jetstar tried regional routes and failed. In the same way there is limited traffic for most of the year on the Great Barrier route and as one commenter wrote, The fact that one of the airlines has gone broke means that the airfares being offered to the public were unsustainably low. The airlines have to be pay their bills and meet overheads. They have to have enough to upgrade their fleet. As I keep a watching brief on the airlines I think Barrier Air's fares are generally pretty reasonable. You can't expect a bus fare on an aeroplane. And you can't expect to have a mass of cheap fares on a 14 seater. But I see Barrier Air now have $49 fares for the month of July. Empty seats make no money! Discounting when you have empty seats make good sense. But I will be really interested to see what Barrier Air do. My observation of them is that they are an airline that wants to develop and grow their markets. The more they can do that the more economy of scale. So interesting times ahead.
Seems there is a lot of love out there for FMS. I would go as far to say 90% of my Barrier clients would use FMS over BA. I know a few that wont fly BA because their aircraft only have one engine (silly I know, but amazing how many people are out there that feel like this) Both are very very established airlines on the Barrier run, and both have had time to win their fair share of loyal patrons and enemy's.
ReplyDeleteSad to see any NZ airline hit the dust. But I feel extra sad - FMS are a wee favourite for me. Loved every single flight with them.
At least we still have a option for travel to GB, and I'm sure Barrier Air will pick up the mantel and do the best they can.
Lately I have been routing from TRG or WTZ and flying over with Sunair. Another really good service.