Ann: Air NZ Welcomes Announcement of Tasman Bubble, page-17

AIZ and competitor QAN (including on occasion subsidiary Jetstar) are cancelling quite a few TransTasman flights as bookings have not lived up to expectations. See websites such as Sydney and Melbourne Airports for confirmation at their 'flight status' (arrivals and departures) pages.

Many are reluctant to travel not because of anything AIZ or QAN have done but due to the willingness of NZ socialist PM Jacinda Ardern and five of the six State Premiers in Australia (worst offenders: Daniel Andrews in Victoria, Mark McGowan in WA and Annastacia Palaszczuk in Queensland) to close borders when there's only a tiny number of COVID-19 cases. We've already seen Ardern suspend Perth, Australia - NZ flights.

Few want to be stuck 'on the wrong side' of the Tasman Sea.

We will need to wait about three months to confirm, but it won't surprise if on top of the cancellations passenger load factors are not what the airlines envisaged for this 'travel bubble'.

I don't follow AIZ but QAN is (despite the spin from eternal optimist CEO Mr Alan Joyce) in a poor financial position with high borrowings, along with many other airlines throughout the world. If it wasn't for Australian Federal Government handouts from Scomo and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, QAN's finances would be in even worse shape.

The cessation of almost all non-Aus-NZ international flights (save for some freight flights to places like Shanghai operated by QAN passenger aircraft) is still costing QAN A$4.5 million plus per day while domestic load factors and flight numbers are still not what they were a couple of years ago.

Resistance in Australia from doctors and nurses to having the AstraZeneca vaccine - allegedly some 70 to 80 per cent of health employees are cancelling scheduled appointments for initial shots - will translate to a reluctance among Australian over-50s to be innoculated with this company's product, but Pfizer's offering is not available to anyone over 50 in Australia yet. This means fewer will be vaccinated than the Federal Government in Oz wants.