Origin Pacific Shut Down Won’t Stop House of Travel Customers
House of Travel’s retail director Brent Thomas says the loss of Origin Pacific’s passenger service is a blow to the
industry, but House of Travel customer disruption has been kept to a minimum.
Following Origin Pacific’s announcement last night of the closing of its passenger service, House of Travel outlets,
especially those in the Nelson region, worked through the night to secure flights with other airlines, says Mr Thomas.
“All customers travelling within 48 hours of the announcement have already been dealt with, thanks to a proactive
approach by our staff. At this stage we have completed about 75 per cent of other customers’ bookings and we are
confident that the remaining quarter will be completed in the next few hours.”
House of Travel has already approached some of the smaller airline operators in the Nelson Marlborough region to see if
there is interest in expanding their routes, particularly on the Nelson to Wellington path. This would be hugely
beneficial to corporate clients who have previously relied on Origin Pacific.
The shut down of Origin Pacific’s passenger service will have repercussions throughout the industry.
“It is so important to have competition on domestic routes, especially for the regional areas. Origin Pacific has
provided a quality service to many travellers over the years, particularly many corporate clients from the Nelson area.
Our thoughts are also with the Origin Pacific staff whose jobs have been terminated as a result of the closure.”
ENDS