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Pacific Blue announced today that it would begin a permanent fourth weekly flight between Auckland and Rarotonga starting in July, adding over 9,000 extra seats to the route each year.

The announcement comes after ongoing discussions with Cook Islands Tourism, who confirmed there is a growing demand for low fare travel to the sun-drenched South Pacific destination.

Pacific Blue CEO Mark Pitt said the airline trialled a fourth weekly flight over the summer holiday season and the extra service had attracted good loads.

“The Cook Islands are a favoured holiday destination for Kiwis and we’re confident that the new permanent fourth service will be well-supported by both leisure travellers and people visiting friends and relatives.”

Pacific Blue said that as well as offering more choice for New Zealand travellers the flight times also enabled easy connections through Auckland for Australian tourists.

“Thousands of Australians are already visiting Rarotonga and Aitutaki every year and by offering low fares and more flights we believe this will help the Cook Islands to grow both its Australian and New Zealand tourism numbers,” Mr Pitt said.

The Cook Islands Minister of Tourism, Hon. Robert Wigmore, said his government was extremely supportive of the increased services and had lent support where required to ensure the additional flight.

“When people pay less to fly here they can afford to stay a little longer or visit more often. Pacific Blue is making access to the Cook Islands easier and more affordable and we look forward to a continued positive relationship with the airline.”

The additional Pacific Blue flight, DJ 163 will depart Auckland to Rarotonga on a Monday evening at 6.30pm with the return flight from Rarotonga to Auckland at 1.50am. The airline’s other three Auckland-Rarotonga services are on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. The new four-times-weekly schedule will commence on 5 July 2010. Through fares to Rarotonga are offered from a wide range of Australian cities including one-stop connections from Sydney and Melbourne.

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