Qantas wants travel to NZ to be just like travel within Australia
By David Flynn, March 15 2017
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has renewed the push for 'seamless' travel between Australia and New Zealand which would make crossing the Tasman no different to crossing into another Aussie state.
No passports, no immigration or customs checks – just zip across the ditch for a day or two of business or a long weekend getaway.
“We think that Australia-New Zealand should have as seamless access as possible" Joyce told a meeting of the Trans-Tasman Business Circle in Wellington yesterday.
"There’s no reason why the travel between the two countries should be not like travel within New Zealand. It should be the same."
Joyce affirmed that "it would make it easier for business travellers and it would make tourism a lot easier," while admitting there's also an upside for Qantas: New Zealand flights could depart from domestic rather than international airports.
"From an infrastructure perspective what it does is improve our efficiency dramatically because we can use domestic terminals."
Yes, this could mean an end to enjoying the Qantas first class lounge at Sydney or Melbourne before your pond-hop. It could also mean Qantas might not need to update its tired Auckland international lounge, if flights back to Australia were to instead depart from Auckland's domestic terminal.
Both the Australian and New Zealand governments have done plenty of talking about removing the trans-Tasman borders, although their most recent move was to propose trialing a cloud passport which would replace physical passports with digital passenger information and biometric data stored on government servers for access by border agencies.
And in 2009, after two years of discussions, plans were set up – but never enacted – to trial a clearance system similar to that used in Europe across European Union countries
Joyce's comments come a week after Qantas, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand took the lead in forming airline industry group Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) to lobby the governments and private airport operators for lower taxes and fees – which A4ANZ claims to make up 40 per cent of an average airfare – along with greater investment in infrastructure and other airline-friendly efficiencies.
What's your take on the notion of 'border-free' travel between Australia and New Zealand? Share your thoughts with other AusBT readers below.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
05 Oct 2011
Total posts 195
Its all about the border staff. Do you seriously imagine they would support the demise of half of their number. Think turkeys and Thanksgiving.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
No international lounge access would make status runs across to NZ less attractive and increase the attractiveness of runs within Australia.
06 Jan 2015
Total posts 66
And what proportion of trans tasman flyers are completing status runs? I'd suggest less than 0.1%.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2014
Total posts 143
Shouldn't the Airlines for Australia and New Zealand acronym be A4ANZ? ;)
28 Dec 2016
Total posts 74
Nah who cares about Australia
15 Mar 2017
Total posts 15
anyone who supports this clearly has not travelled out of the tin shed which is Auckland Domestic. As a whole Auckland Airport needs a dramatic overhaul
11 Jul 2016
Total posts 8
Very sensible, and well overdue.
05 Jan 2014
Total posts 25
what about the international airlines with 5th freedom flights? like EK and SQ?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 467
They would still depart from international terminals.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 May 2013
Total posts 144
It needs someone in government on both sides to be sensible, rather than dramatic. Lots of decisions like these are placed in the "too hard" basket, not sure why. They can even provide ANZ visas where even overseas visitors can travel between countries with just one visa (so they can still show their aussie visa when departing to NZ and the other way around).
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
21 Aug 2013
Total posts 138
Australia New Zealand Schengen now!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Mar 2016
Total posts 167
I would assume EK, SQ, LA would be exempt from the policy which would be in QF and Air NZ's favour as it would probably pull business away from the international airlines. It'd be a great system if they work it out properly.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jun 2011
Total posts 148
I'd much rather be able to board at trans tasman flight in Domestic fashion than International. Lounges are great, but so is turning up 30mins at the airport before a flight, as boarding is about to begin.
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
10 Aug 2015
Total posts 79
Totally agree. I'd rather do away with passports and be able to show up 30mins prior to departure. Give me kiosks and bag drop anytime. NZ there would still be lounges and I do like AKL/WLG/CHC lounges but QF - I guess would be interesting to see if they would add lounges to accommodate international flights but also would allow JQ domestic pax (QF status/Q club) and say EK/QR/AA etc international connecting flight pax a domestic lounge. Maybe include paid lounge access for $$.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Nov 2013
Total posts 475
Auckland domestic is as bad as Newark.
09 Jul 2012
Total posts 25
AKL, as bad as EWR? No airport is as bad as Newark! Just look at last year's scoring for US airports as rated by American travellers themselves. Newark came......last. AKL is no paradise, but its nowhere near as bad as Newark: 70s style, stained carpets, cracked tiles, greasy seats, overflowing bins, filthy toilets, illegal touts at the baggage carousel, trainline not working. Passing through EWR once was enough. I subsequently gave up another business class tkt on Virgin America just to avoid that decrepit ruin.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Aug 2011
Total posts 165
This is all very well, but there are several points, as some have already noted, which means this is virtually impossible with a customs union being established - a matter I doubt NZ (which has the more liberal trade policy generally) would embrace.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1207
This issue foundered last time because AU was less then enamoured with NZ customs and Immigration and didn't want unauthorised entries getting back-door access into AU particularly Pacific Island countries. NZ was a bit offended but this type of feeling is now quite prevalent in the EU also with some countries in western Europe a bit leery about the access controls in less wealthy EU members further east.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Mar 2013
Total posts 132
Well the Auckland lounge is up to Dom standard already. Perhaps quarantine is an issue?
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
The QF AKL J lounge is awful.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
16 Apr 2013
Total posts 29
I'm suprised Sydney and Melbourne airports arent getting behind this. They aren't doing anything else to address their capacity issues. As their capacity is maxing out they can substitute a 737/A320 to NZ using a gate with potentially a larger plane to elsewhere. More pax is more money.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Oct 2014
Total posts 691
BINGO - we have joint winners.
Both Libertyscott and Reeves35 have the correct reasoning down-pat.
Whilst QF/VA/NZ etc might support seamless travel between OZ and NZ, I am surprised that their CEO's seem to display such a unified cavalier attitude. Sorry guys, but the people you need to convince are the good burghers at our Customs & Immigration Departments.
NZ has a more liberal 'entry' policy than does Australia. Hence Australian Immigration has finite concerns about 'back-door' entry - even from our closest ally & neighbour. As does AQUIS. Think of all those flights from various parts of Asia with pax bringing in a suitcase full of regional food / seeds / meats etc.
Not gonna happen within the foreseeable future, IMHO.
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
21 Jan 2016
Total posts 193
The 'Cloud Passport' is currently being trailed from BNE for AIr NZ passengers only.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2012
Total posts 159
Practicalities aside, this might potentially open up flights to more regional NZ destinations such as Napier or Hamilton, where it is currently not cost effect to provide full immigration facilities.
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