PACIFIC BLUE ADDS NEW QUEENSTOWN

PACIFIC BLUE ADDS NEW QUEENSTOWN, DUNEDIN AND WELLINGTON INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

“FLIGHTS FROM MORE NZ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS THAN ANY OTHER AIRLINE”

Queenstown – Sydney Direct! On sale from $259*

Dunedin – Brisbane Direct! On sale from $189*

Wellington – Sydney Direct! On sale from $189*

Wednesday 10 June 2009: Just a week after announcing international direct services from Hamilton to Australia, low fare airline Pacific Blue said today it will add new direct services to Australia from Queenstown, Dunedin and Wellington from September.

The Christchurch-based airline has the following new flights on sale from 10am today, including special launch fares:

Queenstown-Sydney: Two flights a week

Special launch fare of $259* one-way on the internet.

Regular lead-in fares will start from $289* one-way on the internet.

Dunedin-Brisbane: Three flights a week

Special launch fare of $189* one-way on the internet.

Regular lead-in fares will start from $209* one-way on the internet.

Wellington-Sydney: Three flights a week

Special launch fare of $189* one-way on the internet.

Regular lead-in fares will start from $239* one-way on the internet.

Virgin Blue Group CEO, Brett Godfrey, said the new flights would make air travel more affordable for more New Zealanders.

“Travellers in regional New Zealand have made it clear that they want the same easy access to low fares that the three main centres enjoy and our announcements today go a long way to achieving that,” he said.

“When the new services start Pacific Blue will have international flights from six New Zealand airports – Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown – which is more than any other airline.”

Pacific Blue would be the first low-fare airline to fly internationally into Queenstown, which to date had been served only by full-service carriers.

“As much as Kiwis enjoy a warm weather holiday in Australia, we know that Aussies love to visit the stunning scenery of Queenstown for adventure and ski holidays or simply to relax, and now they’ll be able to do that at a reasonable price,” Mr Godfrey said.

The airline also announced it would introduce a direct daily jet service between Dunedin and Auckland to replace its current Dunedin-Christchurch-Auckland service.

Pacific Blue said it was making some changes to its trans-Tasman, Pacific and domestic schedules to accommodate the new routes. This included reducing capacity on domestic services by around 1% of available seat kilometres and retiming some domestic flights to offer a more “business friendly” timetable.

Flight Schedules

Queenstown – Sydney Schedule: Effective 1 September 2009 (subject to change)

Dunedin – Brisbane Schedule: Effective 1 September 2009 (subject to change)

Wellington – Sydney Schedule: Effective 14 September 2009 (subject to change)

* All 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. Fares are on sale from 10am on Wednesday 10 June 2009 until midnight 24 June or until sold out for travel from 1 September 2009 to 10 December 2009 from Queenstown and Dunedin and for travel from 14 September 2009 to 10 December 2009 from Wellington. Fare price is based on GO! Fare and is non-refundable. Flights are subject to regulatory approval.