Freedom Air Adopts Fully Inclusive Pricing

Media release

1 May 2006

Freedom Air Adopts Fully Inclusive Pricing

Freedom Air has today moved to a fully inclusive pricing structure for its advertised airfares.

Freedom already advertises inclusively in Australia and will now include Government and Airport charges in all fares advertised in New Zealand and Fiji. The only tax that will not be included in advertised fares is NZ$25 Departure Tax paid at the airport on the day of travel for all passengers flying out of New Zealand.

The move to a fully inclusive structure means base fares will include fuel costs and additional Government and Airport charges from NZD$11 to $38 depending on which port a passenger is travelling to.

Freedom Air General Manager Stephen Jones says the move to inclusive pricing means people will know exactly what a flight to Australia or Fiji will cost up front.

“While Government and Airport charges are not an airline operating cost, we do collect them on behalf of the airports at the time of booking an airfare, so we have reworked our systems to make it easier for people to know what they are paying.

As part of the Air New Zealand Group, Freedom Air is also increasing its base airfares by 10 percent effective from today in response to recent significant rises in jet fuel prices.

These increases have been made by the Air New Zealand Group as a result of a decrease in the value of the New Zealand dollar against the US dollar and the price of jet fuel, which has doubled from around US$40 in April 2004 to US$89 a barrel today.

“Freedom Air is a low-cost carrier committed to providing New Zealanders with really, really small fares,” says Jones. “But the business reality is that our low cost model means we need to pass fixed costs on.“

ENDS

© Scoop Media