Moves to streamline trans tasman travel

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Geektastic

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#223387 27-Sep-2017 09:35

Interesting article in the Herald today here.

Having just done this, I have to say it was harder than the recent international flights I took. Some key issues for me worth the attention of those looking to speed things up were

Departure cards. WTF is the point of them? Just a hassle with no useful purpose in this day and age, as well as a massive waste of paper
Australian Smartgates. NZ ones have a single part - you put in the passport, get the biometric check and you're done. The Australian ones have two bits. Put in passport. Get a ticket. Walk miles to the next bit. Put in the ticket. etc.

PeterReader

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#1873462 27-Sep-2017 09:35

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sbiddle

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#1873482 27-Sep-2017 10:04

I actually think the story is really a story about nothing. Like talk for the last 20 odd years about trying to streamline the process very little has happened.

As somebody who travels to Australia pretty frequently my view is that they're trying to solve a problem that doesn't actually exist. If I'm flying with carry on only it hasn't taken longer than 10 minutes from landside to lounge on departure or from the plane to landside on arrival for at least a couple of years. The processes at both ends are very quick. In Auckland there can be queues at MPI at times which can be at issue - but realistically that might add another 10 minutes on to those times.

What problem are people trying to solve? And how much time can you shave of that 10 minutes? I suspect the answer is very little. Preclearance before flying makes lots of sense but poses lots of challenges for biosecurity.

My issue is the price of taxes to fly to Australia. My recent WLG to CBR flight cost just on $400 - of that $245 was tax meaning the airline got $155 for a return flight. That sort of price is insane. Taxes to most other longhaul destinations are considerably less - you'll pay around $100 in tax for a return flight to Singapore and around $140 to the US.

Departure cards will probably disappear soon like they did in Australia. As for your issue with Australian Smartgate machines I'm not sure where and when you visited but these are the gen 1 machines that NZ has had for the last few years as well. They are being slowly replaced at all NZ and AU airports with the gen 2 machines that are all in one.

Geektastic

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#1873502 27-Sep-2017 10:21

I flew WLG to SYD last week. Good to know that the machines are being replaced: it's difficult to see the point of the ticket printing method the earlier ones use, really.

Yes, taxes are a PITA. It's all part of the relatively modern idea that anything can be taxed for any reason, I suppose (for example, in the UK there is an "Insurance Premium Tax" although why insurance premiums should be subject to a special tax and not, say, Rice Crispies, I never really understood).

I've never lived or worked in Australia, so have no great knowledge of their tax systems or rates, but I did note that GST, food and petrol were all FAR less expensive than they are in NZ. Partly due to population of course, but no doubt also to tax rates and systems. I even found a type of NZ butter by Mainland that I have never seen for sale anywhere in NZ!

sbiddle

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#1873515 27-Sep-2017 10:47

Geektastic:

I flew WLG to SYD last week. Good to know that the machines are being replaced: it's difficult to see the point of the ticket printing method the earlier ones use, really.

The point of the kiosk then the Smartgate machine was so you could be asked questions on the touchscreen - when you enter Australia for example you'll be asked different questions based on your passport that you have to answer yes/no to. Here in NZ you were asked if you had anything to declare.

Doing this with the Smartgate machines would slow down the whole process so this was all done at the kiosk so there would be no delays at the Smartgate machine itself.

Fred99

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#1874097 28-Sep-2017 13:31

sbiddle:

My issue is the price of taxes to fly to Australia. My recent WLG to CBR flight cost just on $400 - of that $245 was tax meaning the airline got $155 for a return flight. That sort of price is insane. Taxes to most other longhaul destinations are considerably less - you'll pay around $100 in tax for a return flight to Singapore and around $140 to the US.

Sydney to Chch for 4 adults - the "Fare" is only $3.03 each = "almost free":

KiwiSurfer

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#1878555 6-Oct-2017 16:32

How much of that goes to the airline, passing it off as a tax? I see a seat fee which I assume goes to the airline and not the govt. Agree though that government imposed taxes can be excessive. I remember doing a QF flight AKL-WLG many years ago during the Pacific Blue days for $29 or something like that which had less than a dollar go to QF itself! Wasn't surprised when QF quit and had JQ take over the NZ market.