[1] The airline was established in 1995 as a response to the commencement of discount services between Australia and New Zealand by Kiwi Travel International Airlines[2] and started operations on 8 December 1995 with a single Boeing 757-200.

By 2004, its fleet had expanded to five Boeing 737-300[3] aircraft and it was providing direct non-stop services to the Australian cities of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne from Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Palmerston North.

It briefly operated on the New Zealand main trunk domestic routes such as Auckland–Christchurch, but ceased these services to concentrate on providing value trans-Tasman flights.

[4] When the airline ceased Zeal320 had one aircraft painted in Freedom Air livery.

[7] Throughout its existence, Freedom Air flew to six destinations in New Zealand, five in Australia and one in Fiji.