Yes, Air New Zealand has taken a blowtorch to regional airfares after systematically hiking them in recent years. Air New Zealand has stabilised the risk Jetstar posed; the Qantas-owned carrier doesn't have any appetite to aggressively grow here. Additionally, Qantas recently signed a codeshare deal meaning it can put its passengers on 30 Air New Zealand domestic routes. Virgin already has several ATR72 stored at Nelson airport awaiting sale - these are the same model Air New Zealand use. It may not ever happen, but Air New Zealand is taking a pre-emptive strike to try and protect its turf.

Source: Stuff February 26, 2019 01:59 UTC