Dunedin appears to be back in favour with Air New Zealand, following news the national carrier will increase the annual number of seats between the city and Wellington by 30,000.
The company announced last week it would replace its turboprop ATR aircraft between Wellington and Dunedin with jet services, from October.
That meant on average two fewer flights a week, but an increase in seats of 11%, or 30,000 seats annually.
Flight times on the jet service would also be about 30 minutes faster.
Also, from late October it would move to 68-seat ATR aircraft between Dunedin and Christchurch, instead of smaller 50-seat aircraft.
The additional jet services followed February's announcement Air New Zealand would operate extra direct A320 services between Dunedin and Auckland from July, adding more than 1000 seats a week to the schedule.
The news is being lauded as a vote of confidence in Dunedin, and rightly so.
For a long time there was a feeling Dunedin was being short-changed by Air New Zealand, a company which in February announced a significant increase in its half-year profits, up 154% to $338 million.
With little competition in the domestic airline market, there were fewer flights and smaller aircraft operating from the city.
At times, the prospect of getting flights to and from Dunedin at short notice, particularly during peak periods, was almost nil.
Local leaders and businesses owners have long voiced frustration with the apparent lack of traction with Air New Zealand.
Dunedin Airport chief executive officer Richard Roberts said the city had been working hard with Air New Zealand to stimulate and further drive demand for services to and from the city.
The increase in flights had resulted from a strong relationship between Dunedin organisations and Air New Zealand, and had been 12 to 18 months in the making.
This is not just a win for Dunedin people wanting to visit Wellington or Auckland.
Improved direct flights to the main cities means greater access to connecting flights to other parts of the North Island, and also international flights.
It will also enable local businesses to engage with colleagues and customers in those North Island cities.
This has the potential to add to the local economy through more business and possibly new jobs.
But let's not ignore the role rival airline Qantas-owned Jetstar, and to a lesser extent Kiwi Regional Airlines, have had in Air New Zealand's increased presence in Dunedin.
Jetstar has Dunedin flights direct to Wellington and Auckland, in some cases for as little as $60, and this will likely have been a factor in Air New Zealand's move to pay more attention to the South.
Similarly, Kiwi Regional Airlines recently started flying direct from Dunedin to Christchurch and Nelson.
In December, Jetstar began flying to regional centres Nelson, Napier, New Plymouth and Palmerston North which resulted in fares being slashed by up to 40%.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon has already said lower fuel costs, an expanded fleet and increased competition from the likes of Jetstar would all pull down domestic and international airfares.
The battle between airlines is well and truly on and the good news is it will be the consumer who benefits.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dougal McGowan said Air New Zealand's announcement was "absolutely a vote of confidence'' in Dunedin.
Now that Air New Zealand has committed to Dunedin, it is important people in this city make the most of the opportunity.
