FIJI FLIGHTS

Jetstar starts the ball rolling on pay-as-you-go airport lounge accessJetstar and Auckland Airport this week officially opened its pay-per-use airport lounge, and initial reactions from the public appear like the concept has been well received.

After announcing last December that it intended to launch airport lounges at both Wellington and Auckland, it appears that Jetstar may have more initiatives similar to this on the books alluding to “further customer initiatives” in its launch statement.

Akarana Lounge
Terms and conditionsĀkarana Lounge FAQJetstar’s new passenger lounge, the Ākarana Lounge is located at Auckland Airport in the domestic terminal that will open on the 8th February 2010.

Exclusive to domestic passengers travelling with Jetstar, the Ākarana Lounge offers a range of benefits, compfy lounge chairs, complimentary food and beverages, wireless Internet access for passengers with wifi enabled devices, computer terminals and plasma screens showing television news, music videos and movies.

The Ākarana Lounge is a great place to relax in a friendly and welcoming environment away from the noise and distraction of the terminal, where you can also read complimentary magazines and newspapers, check your emails on your laptop and charge your mobile phone.

With free entry for children six years and under, the lounge is ideal for entertaining little ones while waiting for a flight.

Features
• Complimentary breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack menu, with a wide selection of non-alcoholic beverages including soft drinks and juices
• Complimentary selection of wine and beer at the bar
• Plasma screen showing television news, music videos and movies
• Comfortable lounge chairs
• Dedicated private workstation area
• Informal communal tables
• Complimentary wireless Internet access
• Selection of the latest magazines and New Zealand newspapers

Price
The Ākarana Lounge costs $9.99NZD pre-purchased from Jetstar.com or the call centre on + 0800 800 995 before travel, or $15.00NZD at the door.

Children six years and under are admitted free of charge.

Hours
The Ākarana Lounge is open at 5:30am and closes at the boarding call of the last scheduled Jetstar flight departure.

Location
The Ākarana Lounge is located through security in the domestic departure lounge at Auckland Airport near gates 20 and 21.

Competition is heating up between Fiji’s international airline Air Pacific and its fellow airlines with travellers to benefit.

Chief Executive Officer John Campbell said the airline competition to and from Fiji is currently quite intense on virtually all routes adding they have faced and will face additional competitors on the Australia, Hong Kong, Tarawa and Honolulu routes.

Campbell adds in order to preserve its market share, Air Pacific is competing on price on all routes and naturally they are working closely with the tourism industry in Fiji, to help build visitor arrivals to fill the available seats and hotels.

As an example of the competition in fares right now, on the Nadi to Sydney route, Air Pacific is offering $442 one way, Jetstar, the Qantas low-cost offshoot to start operations next month, is offering Sydney to Nadi $401 one way while V-Australia, which started its services in December last year is offering from Nadi to Sydney $400 one way

FIJI VILLAGE

AIR New Zealand has thrown down the gauntlet to other airlines by introducing economy seats on long-haul flights where passengers can lie down.

The new seating arrangement will be in place on the airline’s new Boeing 777-300 aircraft.

“The seats can fold flat all the way to the seat-back in front, creating a space where children can play or people can relax and sleep,” Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe told NZ media.

The 22 sets of seats will take up the first 11 rows in economy class.

Passengers wanting to take advantage of the lay-down seating will need to book a block of three seats.

The airline says that for two adults travelling together, purchasing the Skycouch will be based on buying two seats at standard prices with the third seat at approximately half price.

The unusual configuration means that, once the Skycouch is configured, there is no gap between the seat base and the seat in front and the result is a narrow bed with room for two.

Air NZ says full details of the airfare will be announced when it goes on sale from late April.