Air New Zealand defends Australia-USA transit market as Qantas plans further USA growth with 787-9s

Air New Zealand is turning up the volume. For years the airline had a tidy, under-the-radar business carrying transit passengers between Australia and the US over its Auckland hub. Air NZ is now directly targeting the Australia-USA market with a sales and marketing push that includes an advertising campaign called "Better Way to Fly". CEO Christopher Luxon said in a statement that "capturing just a little bit more of that market would see hundreds of thousands more Aussies flying with us to North and South America...Many Australian travellers still think of us as a trans-Tasman carrier and that's a perception we're determined to change."

The shift that Air NZ envisages is being sought now - and not five or even 10 years earlier - largely because of external factors and competition. Air NZ's marketing may suggest an opportunistic push, but the reality is Air NZ is on the defensive. In the Australia-Americas market competitors have lowered their costs, adding city pairs, product improvements and significant capacity growth. 2017 and 2018 are expected to mean even more growth as a resurgent Qantas adds 787-9 services between Australia and the US, and in particular - to Dallas.