Aspiring domestic airline Kiwijet may be grounded before it even takes off, if oil prices do not come down.
The company had previously said it was aiming for a start-up date in February next year, including flights to Dunedin and Invercargill. No schedules or fares have been released.
In a statement last week, the company said it was on its way to becoming an operational air carrier, and was beginning the process of recruitment and development of its technical manual system.
But Kiwijet was struggling with the increase in the cost of oil. It said due diligence indicated the price of oil would need to be below $US100 ($NZ125) a barrel for the company to have a chance of success.
The price of oil jumped again earlier this week, and was near $105 a barrel yesterday.
Kiwijet believed the price would fall back to below the $US100 mark before July.
The company had previously indicated it needed a partner airline to feed the domestic regional market from overseas, and was in negotiations with an Australian carrier.
It would not name the partner airline until April 1, as it had requested confidentiality.
The company was also forced to look to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the United States to attract pilots. The company was aiming to employ 32 pilots.
It said it had arranged the necessary capital and should be able to take reservations and publish fares and flight schedules later this year.
Kiwijet had indicated it would be based in Christchurch.
A Christchurch International Airport spokeswoman said there had been informal discussions between airport management and Kiwijet but said no formal arrangements had been entered into.
She said the airport could make room for a new airline subject to negotiations.
Pacific Blue announced last month it would be expanding its New Zealand operations, and was looking at flying to a southern destination, either Dunedin or Invercargill.
