Does Air NZ need a business cabin for its trans-tasman A320s?

Does Air NZ need a business cabin for its trans-tasman A320s?

As it stands, they leave the middle seat empty for passengers paying for a WorksDeluxe fare. Should they have 8 or 12 business class seats in order to compete more with what Qantas does across the Tasman. They do run the larger aircraft which of course have business but how about the A320s? is it needed?

Nope.  They don't have them because the majority of people who fly Air NZ are from NZ, and most corporate travel policies there don't permit business class for shortish-haul travel.  That's why Qantas removed their business-class offering from domestic NZ.  When Air NZ *did* run business seating, their load factors were less than 30% paid business guests.  That's just not sustainable.

The Works Deluxe product works for them.

Well, don't forget that a goodly proportion of the Air NZ flights to Auckland do in fact have business class -- these are the 767, 777 and 747 flights that we see occasionally in Australia.

There's an argument that there's enough international consultants/workers going into Christchurch at the moment that CHC flights have some business demand, but enough to fill a cabin? Wellington is too government a town to be able to sustain a business market. Queenstown is too leisure, so is Rotorua. Dunedin is too small.

At the end of the day, Australia is miles ahead of any other domestic/shorthaul market in terms of business class offerings. I'm in Europe at the moment and the best you can hope for here is that "blocked middle seat in an extra legroom row" Eurobusiness style.

works deluxe DOES NOT work , its rubbish and is consisitently infiltrated with non WD fare payers.   what everyone seems to have miseed is there is a place for PE lite oir Biz liet whatever you want to call it , using the seats smilar to what the 787 PE will be . i dont need cina but i challenege anyone to fiond value wlg-syd in WD its outagous and i have written to nz on this. why i dont just go to akl and fly with Ek beats me as the fare is not so disimilar for there c lass at times.

it is true many corp policy dont allow C class and right so but PE they will will and there is pent up demand for pax not wnating to be three abreast  and whilst WD seldom sells out cos of price ( hence the arbitary fillins and i know this cos they buy there meal)   i feell many LH pax also feel agrreived . Not everyone flys from akl by the way 

my veiw anywa , i am going wlg syd all the time and sick and tired of not being able to work easily and having to be extorted for WD which the only benfit is the sdpace next to you. 

another choice is let us buy the empty seat at a fairprice , like the long haul option......

They forgot to think about the people who continue onto the USA OR CANADA after flying to Auckland.I know it only really applies to Adelaide and Melbourne who try and avoid the whole International to Domestic at Sydney transfer like what the other airlines enforce in order to get to LA,SAN FRANCISCO OR VANCOUVER at a reasonable hour for arrival.Imagine going the other way home from the places I have mentioned You had Business Class across the Pacific for the Overnight Leg and Unless You are lucky to get a 767 or 777 for the final sector from NZ Home You are stuck like Cattle for the next three to five hours.