NEW ZEALAND: Kiwi Regional Air Halts Queenstown To Dunedin Flights

Kiwi Regional Air purchased one SAAB 340A for about $2 million.

Kiwi Regional Airlines is cancelling its Dunedin-Queenstown service less than a month after launching.

The Hamilton airline will operate its last flight between Dunedin and Queenstown on November 30.

Kiwi Air began operating scheduled services on October 27 and on its first day cut back its Dunedin to Queenstown service due to a lack of passenger demand.

In a statement on Wednesday Kiwi Air chief executive Ewan Wilson said passengers with Queenstown flights booked after November 30 would be refunded or offered alternative travel arrangements.

Staff affected by the decision had been contacted by the company, Wilson said.

He did not say how many staff were affected.

The Queenstown route had been "extremely challenging" due to weather-related cancellations and low passenger bookings, Wilson said.

"We made a commercial decision to end the scheduled Queenstown flights before they affected the performance of our whole company."