Jetstar has pulled its thrice-weekly flights to Wellington, though the airline has increased flights between Wellington and Queenstown.
The Dunedin service was introduced in 2015, one of a series of increased flights that meant Dunedin Airport hosted more than 1million passengers in a 12-month period for the first time last January.
Jetstar announced this week it would suspend the flights between Wellington and Dunedin. The final service would be on May 29.
Chief customer officer Catriona Larritt said the airline had been operating on the route for nearly three and a-half years, "and we've appreciated the support we've received from local travellers and airports. However, the route has not performed as we'd hoped".
Passengers with bookings after May 29 would be contacted and offered alternative services via Auckland, or a full refund.
Jetstar's Auckland-Dunedin schedule of eight return services a week was unchanged.
"The Wellington route is a particularly difficult one to sustain and we appreciate that the airline needs to look at what routes make economic sense.
"We have worked with Jetstar since the launch of the Wellington route to promote both the service and the destinations, but unfortunately this hasn't been enough to retain the service."
Airport business development general manager Megan Crawford said the Wellington market was usually a business market, and leisure traffic was difficult to generate.
The Jetstar service was more aligned to the leisure market, as it took off later in the day, rather than the early-morning flights business people usually took.
Ms Crawford said there would still be plenty of flights to and from Wellington through Air New Zealand.
Jetstar said it would increase flights between Wellington and Queenstown.
Ms Larritt said from late October, it would double services to six return flights a week.
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This really just highlights the failure of the council to promote Dunedin as a tourist and leisure destination.
Wasn't Jetstar recently bragging that they sold more of their tickets cheaper than Air New Zealand? It appears to me that their cheaper flights are only on limited routes, more limited now.
I wonder which of their marketing team is going to be busy trying to explain this decision so soon after their competition dropped their fares?
Three reasons why I think Jetstar are pulling out of Dunedin.
1- We used to fly jetstar when they flew during the middle of the day, it was a more convenient time. We stopped when they matched the AirNZ time as there was no reason to fly jetstar when AirNZ offers a more comprehensive timetable. Not convenient for pleasure passengers. Stupid timetabling.
2- The move to Sun, Mon, Weds only, meant we can't fly up for a weekend, and not convenient for business passengers either. Stupid timetabling again.
3- Queenstown has become more popular as a destination, so it's obvious to use the plane on that route.
I note that the ODT made a big song and dance when AirNZ increased capacity to Wellington, but haven't mentioned that AirNZ too will decrease seat numbers from April, changing the afternoon flight from an A320 to an ATR with the loss of about 21,000 seats p.a.