Tasman Express Takes Off Tomorrow

Air New Zealand's Tasman Express service begins tomorrow, delivering significantly lower fares for travel between New Zealand and Australia. It will feature...

• Low fares every day, on every Air New Zealand trans-Tasman flight
• More than 100 flights per week from New Zealand to Australia
• Low fares and full inflight service - Tasman Express is not a "no frills" service
• A reduction of up to 45 per cent off current trans-Tasman airfares
• An average 25 per cent of fares are in the lowest category - "Smart Saver"
• Available from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown to six Australian destinations
• Conditions eased - Saturday night stayovers no longer required
• Lowest fares - Smart Saver - available from our website www.airnewzealand.co.nz

Heralding the start of everyday low fares on the Tasman, the first Tasman Express flights that fly out to Australia tomorrow morning are:

• Two Class service - Business Class and Pacific Class - will continue
• Koru Club and International Lounges will remain
• A new light and contemporary food and beverage service included in price
• Audio and video entertainment free
• A checked baggage allowance of 20 kilograms. Carry-on baggage allowance 7kg.
• Check in with time to spare -minimum Tasman Express check-in time is 2 hours, but allow more at Auckland. Check-in desks open three hours before flights.
• Book online and avoid service fees
• Some conditions apply and seats sold on a "first come, first served" basis
• New Airbus A320 aircraft are progressively operating on Tasman Express
• A320 schedule introduced gradually from October 2003. Spacious cabin & all-leather upholstered seats
• A320 schedule introduced gradually from October 2003. Spacious cabin & all-leather upholstered seats
• A320 Initially operating from New Zealand to Sydney and Melbourne

Tasman Express fares

*/**All airfares are exclusive of an insurance surcharge of $8 per sector and a CAA passenger levy of $1.78 per sector and a government security levy of $2.50 per sector where applicable. Airport taxes are also excluded.

These are lead-in fares on main routes only - a total of six Australian destinations are offered (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth & Norfolk Island). Full fares to all destinations available on the website www.airnewzealand.co.nz.

For more information, please contact:
Mark Street, Communications Manager Sales & Marketing, Air New Zealand (09) 336 3202.

NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Aegean Airlines, Air India, Brussels Airlines and TAM have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers 19,500 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries.

For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com.