$l500 cut off London fare

Press, 26 July 1983, Page 3

$l500 cut off London fare

PA Auckland Air New Zealand will reduce its first-class return, fare between Auckland and London by $1478, from $B3lO to $6832. Its Pacific class (business) return fares on the same service will go down $2BB, to about $5300. The big reductions, still to receive formal approval, are to compete against fare cuts between Britain and Australia along the same route by Qantas and British Airways. Air New Zealand’s fares out of New Zealand will undercut the Australian fares by a substantial margin.

Its new first-class fare out of Auckland will be $897 less than the arrangement which threatened to draw many New Zealanders across the Tasman to pick up first-class fares in Australia. Before the announcement of the Air New Zealand fares, New Zealanders flying first-class to London were offered a saving of nearly $6OO by flying firstclass to Australia and buying a London ticket there.

Air New Zealand is also seeking urgent talks ‘with British Airways and Cighay Pacific over reducing its

■first and business class around-the-world fares. Formal approval for the fare reductions was ex- ■ pected from the Government immediately. The lower fares are expected to go on sale within the next few days. As with Qantas and British Airways, they are planning to run until October 1. The around-the-world fare reductions, if agreed to by the two partner airlines, will also apply to first and business class.