CANBERRA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Flights between Australia and New Zealand should be treated like domestic travel, the boss of Australia's flag carrier airline has said.
Alan Joyce, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Qantas Group, said that making travel between the regional neighbors easier would pave the way for a business boom.
"We think it should be treated more like a domestic market," The Australian newspaper quoted him as saying on Thursday.
"It could significantly stimulate demand, significantly stimulate business traffic, that could be good for both local economies and that could be good for everybody, and tourism and everything involved in it."
Joyce, who has served as Qantas CEO since 2008, said that red tape was "a big tax and a big burden on the economics of the trans-Tasman," and that Australia and New Zealand could share a single immigration and customs zone.
"We encourage and have encouraged the governments and the bureaucrats at both ends to try and progress this issue because it could be a significant benefit to both countries," he said.
Qantas currently operates flights between Australia and New Zealand in a joint venture with Dubai's Emirates.
The two companies on Wednesday applied to extend the venture until 2023.
