The Empire Strikes Back

Just one day after Jetstar reinstated flights between Wellington and Queenstown, Air New Zealand has increased the number of seats it offers on the route. That's good news for consumers a plane tickets are lower on routes with more competition and both airlines are likely to offer special fares to tempt passengers. The national carrier said on Friday it would lift the number of seats between the capital and the southern lakes resort by about 50 per cent from April next year. It will operate an extra five A320 direct services a week - which works out at 38,000 extra one-way seats from previous year. The new flights will supplement the airline's existing daily direct jet service and will operate between Thursday and Monday, taking the number of jet services a week to 12.  "Queenstown is a hugely popular destination on our domestic network so it's great to be able to match growing demand with these extra jet flights," Air New Zealand's chief revenue office Cam Wallace said. Air New Zealand's ATR turboprop planes also fly the route. On Thursday, rival Jetstar said it would fly between Wellington and Queenstown three times a week from March, returning to the route it pulled out of in 2013. It will operate an Airbus A320 from the capital to the southern lakes resort on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. The service is Jetstar's fifth domestic route from Wellington and second domestic route from Queenstown. It currently flies from Wellington to Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Nelson, and between Queenstown and Auckland. Air New Zealand's increased interest in the route is no surprise. In 2013 it lifted capacity between Wellington and Queenstown by flying bigger planes on the route. Days later, Qantas-owned Jetstar stopped its year-round service although a spokesperson said at the time that it had nothing to do with the competition.

Source : https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/99906999/air-new-zealand-takes-jetstar-on-in-queenstown