Steve Creedy From: The Australian December 08, 2010 12:00AM
AIR New Zealand and Virgin Blue have promised to add more than 300 flights a year to trans-Tasman routes.
This, as they attempt to convince regulators to give their alliance a green light.
With a decision expected in the next two weeks, the airlines are making a last-ditch push to get the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to reverse its preliminary ruling that a trans-Tasman tie-up would be detrimental to consumers.
New Zealand's Ministry of Transport also has to make a decision on the tie-up, which would see the airlines take a co-ordinated approach to issues such as pricing, revenue management, schedules, capacity and routes.
They have already persuaded Wellington International Airport and local councils originally opposed to the deal to withdraw their objections.
The airlines' latest submission says they expect to be able to increase frequency on six existing routes once the alliance has begun operating.
They also predict they will be able to start new services in response to the increased demand.
A breakdown of the additional flights shows there will be an extra 97 a year on the Adelaide-Auckland route, 47 on Perth-Auckland and 65 on Gold Coast-Auckland.
VBA Price at posting:
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