The Christchurch-based budget airline is owned by Australia’s Virgin Blue, and also flies on the trans-Tasman route and to the Pacific Islands.
Virgin Blue yesterday reported a tax-paid loss of A$101.4 million compared with a A$113.3 million profit the previous year, due to start-up costs for new long-haul airline V Australia, and currency and fuel hedge losses.
The airline does not separate out its numbers for Pacific Blue.
But Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said that across its entire network, Pacific Blue was profitable, and should break even for the full year.
“Pacific Blue in the current environment is doing as well, if not better than its Australian counterpart,” he said.
The domestic service was profitable by October, but a deteriorating market in November and December meant the airline posted a “negligible” result for the half year.
“It is in the red, but it is certainly not of a concern to us,” Godfrey said.
Jetstar’s announcement last week that it would replace Qantas in the domestic market also “did not rock our boat,” he said.
Analysts have said the two budget airlines would battle it out for survival in the tough market, with Pacific Blue regarded as the weaker party.
Godfrey said the domestic market was “very hot right now” and he was happy with the equivalent of the 2 1/2 180-seat Boeing 737-800s Pacific Blue was offering.
There was no thought being given to pulling out of the domestic market, “none whatsoever.”
Asked if Pacific Blue could pick up Tasman services to regional destinations abandoned by Air New Zealand recently, he said he was looking at several options.
That included the possibility of adding some of the 104-seat Embraer fleet to Pacific Blue’s fleet of 10 180-seat Boeing 737-800s.
“We are looking at whether or not they now operate some of the 144-seat 737-700s and, quite frankly, whether there is some interesting markets, and I believe there are, for Embraers to operate in their colors.”
Godfrey would not name specific routes that would be suitable for the Embraer within Pacific Blue’s network. But they were likely to include destinations that were too small or with runways too short for the 737.
Air New Zealand was pulling out of Hamilton in April and cutting back Dunedin services, because its 152-seat Airbus A320 was flying about half full.
