Air New Zealand is planning to launch a campaign offering University of Otago students special standby fares from Dunedin.
It is understood the airline plans to introduce trial $39 standby fares next month aimed specifically at the student market.
An airline spokesman confirmed a deal aimed at offering students discounted travel had been discussed in partnership with the university, but details were still being finalised.
An announcement was expected within two weeks, he said.
Air New Zealand deputy chief executive Norm Thompson, who was in Dunedin as a guest speaker for the Otago-Southland branch of the Institute of Directors on Tuesday night, outlined details of the plans.
Under the scheme, which is expected to be trialled over a month, students would be able to fly anywhere in New Zealand for $39, he said.
It is unclear whether the deal would be open to polytechnic students, or other universities.
Air New Zealand's Tasman Pacific general manager, Glen Sowry, told the Otago Daily Times in June the airline was in talks with the University of Otago about a partnership involving discounted student travel on low-demand flights.
The scheme could be similar to Grab A Seat, where the airline sold limited reduced fares, he said.
Dunedin International Airport chief executive John McCall said student standby fares were offered by Air New Zealand and Ansett New Zealand in the early to mid-1990s, but the practice was no longer promoted.
He welcomed the move as a way of filling vacant seats on aircraft and boosting passenger numbers.
If the new campaign was similar to the previous system, students "targeting" certain flights would have a good chance of getting cheap fares.
University of Otago School of Business associate professor David Timothy Duval said standby was a strategy used by airlines to allocate seats assigned to passengers "but who, for one reason or another, don't show up".
Otago University Students Association president Edwin Darlow said while he was not aware of the campaign he supported anything that made it easier for students to travel.
Otago Polytechnic Students Association acting president Meegan Cloughley said while the proposal sounded "fantastic", she hoped it would be open to all students in the region.
