Many Tasmanians say they are “disappointed” at Air New Zealand’s decision to withdraw their direct flights to and from the island for an ‘indefinite’ period from next year.
Come April 5, 2024, travellers will be left with no choice but to venture via the mainland to head across the ditch due to ‘scheduling issues’ over an engineering issue that has led to a ‘lack of aircraft’.
EXCLUSIVE: Air New Zealand to suspend Hobart to Auckland direct flights in 2024
Air New Zealand initially introduced the twice a week direct flights in April 2021, connecting Tasmania to NZ by air for the first time in over two decades, and recently added a third return flight for the summer season to meet increased demand.
The airline say passengers who had already booked their flights before the cancellation was announced will either be offered a full refund or automatically rebooked on the next available service.
But this will involve a minimum of around 3 hours of additional travel time through either Melbourne or Sydney, something travellers say they are not looking forward to going back to.
“That wait at Melbourne Airport is such a waste of time … looks like it will be back to Qantas or Virgin,” one person wrote online.
Others slammed the “ridiculous” decision as “not fair” and “not a good look”, including Shadow Tourism Minister Rebecca White, who described the loss of the service as a “blow to Tasmania’s economy, our tourism industry and the community”.
Short Haul General Manager Jeremy O’Brien acknowledged that despite the route “performing well”, particularly over the upcoming summer months, the airline was “not in a position to commit to a date to return to the direct service”.
“We know demand for the services is higher over the warmer months and will be reviewing the availability of seats on our network throughout 2024 to update customers as soon as we can,” he said.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff was left “very disappointed” by the decision but said he was “keen” to work “in partnership with Air New Zealand to get those flights back up and running” in 2024.
“[The route has] been successful. The 2022-2023 New Zealand connection has been very good and it’s been the benefit of both parties,” Rockliff said.
“We’ve welcomed more Kiwis to Tasmania than we’ve sent Tassie’s across the ditch … So it’s working for us.”
He is hopeful that the service will be back in the air by November 2024.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson on Friday told Pulse that the aircraft used on the Hobart service, alongside some Pacific and domestic routes, will need to be “grounded” so they can undertake “mandatory … engine maintenance”.
“A rare condition identified by P&W in its P&W1100 engines, which power 13 of Air New Zealand’s narrowbody aircraft, including those operating on its Hobart service, means the airline is required to ground several aircraft in the short to medium term,” the spokesperson said.
The route appears to be the first major casualty of what the airline earlier warned would be ‘significant changes’ to its schedule next year, with no other airlines expressing interest in filling the gap.
Hobart Airport will keep the ‘International’ name for now, with the airport saying they look forward to welcoming Air New Zealand back soon.
