Freedom Air any international services. Flights to Nadi and Newcastle were withdrawn prior to 2008. Freedom Air Freedom Air was Air New Zealand Group's low-cost airline which operated from December 1995 to March 2008. It ran scheduled passenger services from New Zealand to Australia and Fiji and charter services within New Zealand. Its main base was Auckland Airport. The airline was established in 1995 as a response to the commencement of discount services between Australia and New Zealand by Kiwi Airlines and started operations on 8 December 1995 with a single Boeing 757. It was formed as South Pacific Air Charters by
Pacific Air Lines except for Medford. In May 1968, Pacific flew to 29 airports. Connelly, president, and Hayward, board chairman, were the majority owners of the airline, and as such could hold sway concerning how the company would operate. Running on slim operating margins, Southwest Airways was a no-frills airline decades before low-cost carriers became common. The airline speeded ground operations to the point where a DC-3 could load and discharge passengers and begin taxiing for takeoff 90 seconds after coming to a stop (adding six minutes if fuel is needed). To save money, the airline had its own pilots do the refueling