Jetstar will be adding another aircraft to its Gold Coast fleet for the new services to NZ. Picture: ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
Jetstar is reaching further into New Zealand with new direct flights to Hamilton and Dunedin from the Gold Coast and Sydney.
The new services are due to take off from June 2025.
According to an airline statement released today (September16), both of its Gold Coast services will take off three times a week, creating more than 115,000 new seats annually.
It will be the first time Jetstar will fly to Hamilton, in the Waikato, with its access to holiday hot spots like Rotorua, the Bay of Plenty and Hobbiton.
The new service between the Gold Coast and Dunedin will allow passengers flying into one airport to fly out of another on the airline’s NZ network.
Jetstar Group CEO Stephanie Tully says the announcement is great news for Gold Coast tourism.
“Tourism is a key industry on the Gold Coast. The new agreement with Queensland Airports will support the growth of inbound tourism and provide a big boost to local operators,” she says.
“It’s also great news for customers, with the new routes unlocking more than 115,000 new low fares seats a year between the Gold Coast, Hamilton and Dunedin while helping to connect the city’s large population of Kiwi ex-pats to their home country.”
Jetstar will add another aircraft to its Gold Coast fleet from June 2025, bringing the local numbers to six aircraft.
Queensland Airports Limited CEO Amelia Evans says the new services offer greater choice and affordability for Kiwis looking for a holiday.
“New Zealand is Australia’s largest international visitor market so it makes sense for us to increase our Trans-Tasman connectivity,” she says.
“We’re proud that we’ll be Australia’s most connected airport to New Zealand.
“These services are expected to deliver over 115,000 passengers annually to the Gold Coast, connecting the city to Dunedin for the first time and re-establishing the airport’s first ever Tasman route, to Hamilton,” she said.
Queensland Tourism Minister Michael Healy also praised the decision.
“The new services will make Gold Coast Airport Australia’s most connected to New Zealand, with more routes for visitors and students to arrive, with air freight heading back across the Tasman,” he says.
“Almost half a million kiwis crossed the ditch to visit Queensland in the year ending March 2024, setting a second consecutive visitor spending record with $821 million in overnight visitor expenditure.”
Jetstar also announced a Sydney-Hamilton service, which will also take off from June 2025 and create more than 75,000 seats every year.
DUNEDIN REACTION
A Dunedin Airport statement says the new service starts on June 24 while city mayor Jules Radich flipped the switch to light the airport in orange to celebrate the news and staff wore orange shirts.
The airport described the decision as “momentous” and the culmination of nearly five years of work.
Dunedin’s last international flight, a Virgin Australia service to Brisbane, was suspended in 2020 due to the global pandemic and never resumed.
An airport delegation led by Daniel De Bono visited Australia in May to get Trans-Tasman flights reinstated.
Dunedin’s railway station. Picture: Pixabay
HAMILTON REACTION
The Jetstar service will be the first international flight out of Hamilton in 13 years.
The final service (a Virgin Australia flight) departed from Hamilton to Brisbane on October 27, 2012.
Waikato Regional Airport Ltd (WRAL) chief executive Mark Morgan says the news follows more than 12 months of “solid grind” by his team negotiating with the airline and border agencies.
“It’s been hard, complex work, in a very sensitive commercial environment and we are thrilled to have pulled this off,” he says.
“The benefits for the entire region – not just passengers – are huge.
“Analysis indicates the flights will boost the regional economy by about $45 million per year. That’s fantastic for everyone; this is not just about the airport, it’s a great day for the region.”
The Sydney-Hamilton service starts first with four flights a week on Jue 16 followed by Cold Coast-Hamilton on June 18 and Dunedin-Gold Coast on June 24.
Flight duration will be about three-and-a-half-hours onboard an Airbus A320-NEO aircraft.
