Emirates has announced that it is restructuring its business and economy class fare categories on trans-Tasman services, which appears to be set to challenge Air New Zealand’s recently announced changes to its fare scheme.
Under the new fare format, economy and business fares will be split into Super Saver, Saver and Flex categories, which the airline is now selling as one-way fares. As an example, Emirates says that a one way Economy Saver fare on Sydney-Auckland flights will start from $253 one way, while Business Saver fares will start from $733 one way.
“The creation of a year round pricing structure for our trans-Tasman fares makes it easier for customers to select the type of fare they want from a range of competitive prices with consistent fare rules,” said Emirates vice president Australia Stephen Pearse.
“There is real value-for-money without restrictions in the Economy Flex fares. The new Business Class Saver level is comparable to other fully-flexible economy fares.”
The move comes after Air New Zealand, which recently announced plans to change its fare categories and move to a one-class cabin on its trans-Tasman services from later this year. Air NZ and Virgin Blue have also recently announced plans for a trans-Tasman alliance, which would give both carriers greater presence in the market against Qantas, Jetstar and Emirates.
