16 Jul 2004

Norfolk Jet gets landing spots to compete against Air New Zealand

5:10 pm on 16 July 2004

Norfolk Jet is clearing the final bureaucratic checks before it starts flying to New Zealand next month.

The airline of Norfolk Island says Auckland International Airport has approved landing slots for Tuesday and Sunday each week.

The Chief Operating Officer of Norfolk Jet, David Bobbermen, says the service will start on August the 29th.

Mr Bobbermen says Norfolk Jet will charter a plane from Alliance Airlines of Brisbane.

"The aeroplane used will be a Fokker 100, which is a twin-jet aeroplane, seating a hundred people of two-class configuration; 92 economy class seats and eight business class seats."

Mr Bobbermen says the airline has obtained traffic rights and a code-sharing agreement with Qantas.

Air New Zealand currently enjoys a monopoly on flights to Norfolk Island from New Zealand.