Air NZ domestic traffic down in September, int'l passengers up

By NZPA

Thursday 7th November 2002

Air New Zealand's domestic traffic fell 2.3 percent in September compared with September 2001, while the airline's international traffic rose by the same amount.

The fall in domestic traffic, as measured by revenue passenger kilometres, meant Air NZ filled 69.2 percent of its domestic seats, 0.9 points higher than in September 2001.

Domestic capacity, measured by available seat kilometres, fell by 3.6 percent in September as a result of increased competitor capacity in the domestic market.

In April last year, Air NZ increased domestic capacity following the collapse of the Qantas New Zealand operation, but then contracted when Australian airline Qantas Airways entered the domestic market.

For the September quarter, domestic traffic fell 3.9 percent and capacity reduced by 4.9 percent. The domestic passenger load factor was up by 0.7 points at 67.7 percent, compared with the same three months in 2001, the airline said in a statement today.

On Air NZ's international routes, capacity was 4.2 percent lower in September 2002 than in September 2001. However, international traffic rose by 2.3 percent for the month.

A slight reduction in trans-Tasman passenger traffic was partially offset by a rise in European traffic as a result of the start of the America's Cup, Air NZ said.

In the September quarter, international traffic fell by 2.4 percent on capacity reductions of 8.0 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago. Air NZ filled 76.7 percent of international seats for the three months, up 4.4 percent on the previous period.

Group passenger traffic increased by 1.8 percent for September, on capacity reductions of 4.1 percent, with the airline filling 72.5 percent of seats.

For the quarter, group capacity dropped by 7.6 percent with passenger traffic down 2.6 percent. The quarterly passenger load factor was up 3.9 percent at 75.6 percent.

Air NZ's new one-class Express service launched on November 1 will replace subsidiary Freedom Air's domestic capacity, following Freedom's exit from the domestic market in September.

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