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| Founded | 1995 (1995) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 8 December 1995 (1995-12-08) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 30 March 2008 (2008-03-30) | ||||||
| Hubs | Auckland Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 11 | ||||||
| Destinations | 13 | ||||||
| Parent company | Air New Zealand | ||||||
| Headquarters | Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||
| Key people | Rob Fyfe (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www.freedomair.com | ||||||
Freedom Air (legallyFreedom Air International) was a New Zealandlow-cost airline which operated since 8 December 1995 to March 2008. It was part of theAir New Zealand Group which ran scheduled passenger services fromNew Zealand toAustralia andFiji and charter services within New Zealand. Its main hub wasAuckland Airport.[1]
The airline was established in 1995 as a response to the commencement of discount services between Australia and New Zealand byKiwi Travel International Airlines[2] and started operations on 8 December 1995 with a singleBoeing 757-200. It was ordinally formed asSouth Pacific Air Charters byMount Cook Airline and renamed toFreedom Air International in 1998.
By 2004, its fleet had expanded to fiveBoeing 737-300[3] aircraft and it was providing direct non-stop services to the Australian cities ofBrisbane,Gold Coast,Newcastle,Sydney andMelbourne fromHamilton,Auckland,Wellington,Christchurch,Dunedin andPalmerston North. Flights toFiji were also operated. It briefly operated on theNew Zealand main trunk domestic routes such as Auckland–Christchurch, but ceased these services to concentrate on providing valuetrans-Tasman flights.[2]
In June 2006, the aircraft from Freedom Air were combined with Air New Zealand's fleet of Airbus A320-200 under theair operator's certificate ofZeal320, which was then the sole operator of the Air New Zealand Group's Airbus fleet.[4] When the airline ceased Zeal320 had one aircraft painted in Freedom Air livery.[5] As such, Freedom Air has no aircraft or current air operator's certificate, and Freedom Air is no longer an operational entity.[6]
Air New Zealand ceased all Freedom Air operations from the end of March 2008.[7]
Throughout its existence, Freedom Air flew to six destinations in New Zealand, five in Australia and one in Fiji.[8] When the airline shut down on 30 March 2008, all services were replaced byAir New Zealand flights, with the exception of flights out ofPalmerston North, which left the airport without any international services.[9] Flights toNadi andNewcastle were withdrawn prior to 2008.
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Freedom Air had operated the following aircraft:[12]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 13 | 2005 | 2008 | 3 leased fromAir New Zealand. |
| Boeing 737-200 | 2 | 2001 | 2001 | 1 leased fromAirwork. |
| Boeing 737-300 | 9 | 1996 | 2006 | 3 leased fromAir New Zealand. 2 leased fromTACA Airlines. 1 leased fromPolynesian Airlines
|
| Boeing 757-200 | 1 | 1995 | 1996 | Leased fromBritannia Airways. |
