Air New Zealand to open Brisbane hub to run Norfolk Island routes in competition with Qantas

The Kiwi carrier will open a Brisbane base to operate Norfolk Island flights, leaving doubts over whether Qantas will continue running the route as well.

Air New Zealand is setting up a Brisbane base so it can resume flights to Norfolk Island without fear of crew being forced into quarantine. Picture: Dean Purcell-Pool/Getty Images

Air New Zealand will set up a Brisbane base so it can resume flights to Norfolk Island without the fear of crew being forced into quarantine.

The airline was forced to pull off routes from Brisbane and Sydney to Norfolk Island in February because of Covid restrictions for international aircrews prior to the trans-Tasman bubble being established.

As a result, the Australian government then contracted Qantas to operate those services until late August.

On Thursday a Qantas spokeswoman was unable to say if the airline would halt flights when the contract ended, or continue to compete with Air New Zealand.

Whereas the Kiwi carrier operated an all economy cabin in its A320s, Qantas offered both business and economy class on its 737s flying to Norfolk Island.

An Air New Zealand statement said the Brisbane base would be established ahead of the resumption of flights on August 30, and accommodate a number of pilots and crew.

Final numbers were still being determined but the airline expected to fill all roles with staff relocating from New Zealand.

Air New Zealand chief operating officer Carrie Hurihanganui said the base would remain in existence until at least November 30 to ensure potential disruptions to the trans-Tasman travel bubble would not affect continuity of services to Norfolk Island.

“Prior to the trans-Tasman bubble opening, crew operating domestic flights in Australia were required to have been in Australia for 14 days or have arrived in Australia on a quarantine-free flight,” said Ms Hurihanganui.

“This unfortunately resulted in us having to suspend services between Norfolk Island and mainland Australia in February. Having crew based in Australia will ensure we avoid disruption should the Australian border close again.”

Ms Hurihanganui said Air Zealand had been operating between Australia and Norfolk Island since 2012, and was the only airline flying scheduled services to the island in 2020.

“We know our customers value these services, and we’re thrilled to be able to resume the route from late August,” she said.

The new government contract extended until August 2023, to ensure the provision of regular air services to Norfolk Island for residents and visitors as well as freight.

Air New Zealand will use single-class A320s on the routes, and operate six return flights a week including three from Brisbane and three from Sydney.

The temporary Brisbane base announcement came after a series of withdrawals by other airlines from Australia as a result of Covid-19 disruption.

Cathay Pacific informed its 121 Australian-based pilots last week they could either take a redundancy or relocate to Hong Kong to keep working, while China Southern Airlines closed its crew base late last year.

And Virgin Australia closed its New Zealand base last April, affecting about 600 workers, and also shut down its Tigerair base in Melbourne, after deciding to discontinue the budget carrier.

Originally published as Air New Zealand to open Brisbane hub to run Norfolk Island routes in competition with Qantas