Pacific Blue is the New Zealand based subsidiary of Australian airline Virgin Blue. Based in Christchurch, it currently operates low-fare air services within New Zealand, between New Zealand and Australia, and to the Pacific Islands. It also operates services on behalf of Polynesian Blue. Its New Zealand bases are Christchurch Airport and Auckland Airport.
History
Pacific Blue is the only New Zealand based LCC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Blue Pacific Blue currently operates a fleet of 7 737-800 aircraft configured with 180 seats.
The airline was established in 2003 and started operations in January 2004 with a service between Christchurch and Brisbane, Australia. Pacific Blue also operated Wellington to Sydney for three months, but this service was cancelled in favour of services to Brisbane. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Blue. The airline operates 283 services a week throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.
As of the first flight of 1st August 2007 (local date) the ICAO was changed from PBI to PBN. This was done in consultation with air traffic controllers to prevent confusion between the letter I and the number 1 in flight plans.
On 21 August, 2007, Pacific Blue announced their intention to begin domestic services in New Zealand with the first flights scheduled to operate early November. THe initial routes were AKL-WLG / AKL-CHC / CHC-WLG. Upon this announcement competitors dropped their lead-in fares by up to 30%. The entry of Pacific Blue into the domestic market saw huge growth in passenger numbers at all three airports.
Services from Auckland – Wellington, Christchurch – Wellington and Auckland – Christchurch began on November 12. Launch fares were made available for $9NZD(7.70Australian Dollars) on all routes.
In April 2008 Pacific Blue announced a new domestic route: Dunedin. The first significant challenge to mainly monopoly routes into regional areas. The first flight will commence on 01 July. Pacific Blue also announced a range of service increases to existing international routes to meet demand.
Contact Details
Website: www.flypacificblue.com
