Kiwi Travel International Airlines (Hamilton, NZ) founder Ewan Wilson is planning to establish another carrier in 2016 to serve New Zealand's domestic market. According to Wilson, the carrier will "fill the gaps" left in the domestic market by Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland International) which recently announced a raft of cuts to its domestic network.
"Our feeling is Air New Zealand having now stated publicly they're pulling out of the routes, saying they're not profitable or sustainable, and encouraging other operators to develop those niches, I think Air New Zealand has paved the way for a new entrant," he told the Waikato Times.
Founded in 1994, Kiwi Travel International Airlines pioneered discount flights between secondary airports in Australia and New Zealand using a variety of leased aircraft including B737-300s, A320-200s, and B727-200s. However, a lethal price war with Air New Zealand lead to the carrier's collapse in 1996. Kiwi was liquidated owing NZD8million (USD6.167 million) in debts.
In 1998, Wilson was convicted of fraud after prosecutors successfully argued that he had lied about the state of his financial affairs and those of two other company shareholders when applying to the Bank of New Zealand for a NZD0.25million loan needed to launch Kiwi Air.
