Air New Zealand pull back from the regions

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#1173738 12-Nov-2014 18:13

People who are really shafted are those in Westport who now face a 2 and three quarter hours drive to next airport.

The others have other options.

But won't hear from them because not a north island news story.

A.

MikeB4

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#1173741 12-Nov-2014 18:22

Its not the role of private enterprise to develop or support the regions. That is the role of Regional Authorities with support if needed from Central Government.

afe66

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#1173744 12-Nov-2014 18:31

Can't wait til this blows over so we can get back to important stories like how much our (Auckland) house prices have gone up and how long I spend on the motorway driving by to work.

A.

nathan

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#1173768 12-Nov-2014 19:00

afe66: People who are really shafted are those in Westport who now face a 2 and three quarter hours drive to next airport.

The others have other options.

But won't hear from them because not a north island news story.

A.

Westport -> Hokitika 1hr 49mins

old3eyes

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#1173771 12-Nov-2014 19:07

billbennett: I've just written a piece making the comparison between Air New Zealand and the telcos having to pay $50 million a year to subsidise rural telecommunications. It'll be up on Geekzone soon, but in the meantime it's at my site:

One rule for telecoms investors, another for Air NZ

Either we decide to support the regions - and there's a good argument for that, or we don't. But taxing one industry and not another to do this doesn't make sense.

"why not tax Air New Zealand $12 million to fly planes to rural centres?" Why not tax Jetstar as well if you're using the telco example, they could also fly there but won't??

Regards,

Old3eyes

JimmyH

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#1173776 12-Nov-2014 19:17

Why should it be the responsibility of someone flying (say) from Christchurch to Auckland to pay a levy on their ticket, to subsidise the ticket of someone flying (say) from Hokitika to Wellington?

Absurd

If the numbers don't work then the service shouldn't survive.

Batman

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#1173780 12-Nov-2014 19:28

what happens to those regional airports?

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Behodar

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#1173781 12-Nov-2014 19:31

joker97: what happens to those regional airports?

Whakatane should survive for a while longer; there are a number of tours etc out of there, plus hopefully Sunair will take it up. I'm guessing that Kaitaia may have a few tours etc too. I've forgotten where the third airport is and I'm too lazy to check...

MikeB4

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#1173782 12-Nov-2014 19:32

joker97: what happens to those regional airports?

They will remain for aeroclubs, charters and waiting for someone in the region to take up the challenge, reinvent the area and generate a demand for AirNZ to return.

turnin

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#1173784 12-Nov-2014 19:36

What has changed , the model worked 20 years ago or were the big cities propping up the regions ?
I guess the double standard from the CC, if thats what it is, can be justified in that we should be skype/rtc ing rather than flying.
I guess this means more road travel/ accidents etc, be interesting to look at all the real costs/benefits

sbiddle

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#1173793 12-Nov-2014 19:55

KiwiNZ:
joker97: what happens to those regional airports?

They will remain for aeroclubs, charters and waiting for someone in the region to take up the challenge, reinvent the area and generate a demand for AirNZ to return.

Air NZ are unlikely to return. Unlikely. Why? Because they won't have any planes to be able to return.

The B1900s are being scrapped, and regions where they can sustain a 50 seat vs a 19 seat plane are seeing that now. If they can't fill 19 seat planes to a point now where they are profitable services, the chances of being able to full a 50 seat plane to 75% at some point in the future is highly, highly unlikely.

If regions want services they should look at the model pioneered by Ryan Air - rather than charging the airline to fly to your airport, pay the airline to fly to your airport.

billbennett

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#1173800 12-Nov-2014 20:04

old3eyes:
billbennett: I've just written a piece making the comparison between Air New Zealand and the telcos having to pay $50 million a year to subsidise rural telecommunications. It'll be up on Geekzone soon, but in the meantime it's at my site:

One rule for telecoms investors, another for Air NZ

Either we decide to support the regions - and there's a good argument for that, or we don't. But taxing one industry and not another to do this doesn't make sense.

"why not tax Air New Zealand $12 million to fly planes to rural centres?" Why not tax Jetstar as well if you're using the telco example, they could also fly there but won't??

Agree. There could be an airline levy exactly the same as the Telecommunication Development Levy. The fact that this idea seems wrong and strange tells you heaps about the TDL.

Bill Bennett www.billbennett.co.nz @billbennettnz

billbennett

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#1173802 12-Nov-2014 20:07

JimmyH: Why should it be the responsibility of someone flying (say) from Christchurch to Auckland to pay a levy on their ticket, to subsidise the ticket of someone flying (say) from Hokitika to Wellington?

Absurd

If the numbers don't work then the service shouldn't survive.

By the same standard why should someone in Takapuna subsidise rural telephone calls and broadband? There is something in telecommunications call the Universal Service Obligation. It was part of the deal when Telecom was a publicly owned monopoly. The TDL is, in effect, the continuation of that. It made sense 20-odd years ago, it kind of made sense right up until Telecom and Chorus demerged. Today it looks odd and the airline example underlines that.

Bill Bennett www.billbennett.co.nz @billbennettnz

kiwigander

231 posts

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#1173814 12-Nov-2014 20:28

"Airlines with small aircraft are a dying breed all over the world. You just need to look at aircraft manufacturers to see this. There are no western 19 seat manufacturers and only the ATR-42 remains as a Western mid sized turbo prop being manufactured.

"Certification costs have killed the small airliner industry. This is not just a problem facing New Zealand. Many other countries around the world are facing the same issues (take Tonga for example).

"I see this issue only getting bigger as the stock of existing Metros, Saabs, Beeches etc. reach end of life. It is hard to see manufacturers jumping back into this space in the foreseeable future. Owning a small thin routes takes courage, money, and lots of money. "

The Dash-8 series, e.g Q400, is still very much in production.

kiwigander

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#1173815 12-Nov-2014 20:30

And if you're wondering about 19-seaters, Twin Otters are still being manufactured.

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