Air New Zealand boss bullish on Western Sydney flights

By Andrew Curran.

Air New Zealand expects its new flights to Western Sydney Airport (WSI) to be profitable and provide a “useful foil” in the Sydney market.

The airline will begin services to the greenfield airport on October 26, 2026, operating three flights a week from Auckland (AKL) using an A320-200.

“We expect them to be profitable, otherwise we wouldn't do them,” Air New Zealand Chief Financial Officer Richard Thomson said during a June 30 analyst briefing.

He said the new airport appeals on several levels, including its relatively low-cost operating environment and access to a new passenger catchment.

Western Sydney Airport has a catchment of approximately three million people, encompassing Greater Western Sydney and including fast-growing population centres such as Penrith, Liverpool, Campbelltown, Fairfield and Parramatta.

The catchment represents Australia’s third-largest economy and is home to more than 50% of Sydney’s population. The new airport is located 56 kilometres west of Sydney’s existing Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD).

“As we look to grow Sydney over time, I think we see Western Sydney as a useful foil for us in the Sydney market,” Thomson said. “It's a growing region and there's not a huge amount of infrastructure, so there isn't much duplication.”

Air New Zealand currently operates 48 weekly flights to Sydney, including 26 from Auckland, nine from Queenstown (ZQN), seven from Christchurch (CHC) and six from Wellington (WLG).

“Kingsford Smith is now quite a constrained airport, and that's only going to become more challenging over time,” added Thomson.

Western Sydney Airport will open to cargo flights this month before commencing passenger operations in October.

Jetstar, Qantas and Singapore Airlines are the other airlines to have confirmed launch dates for services to Western Sydney Airport.

Photo: Western Sydney Airport.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com