A Gloomy Day at Taupo

The Bay Trust Rescue Helicopter Aerospatiale Squirrel ZK-HZN at Taupo on 11 May 2018

Rotors off - Mid West Helicopters ' Hughes 500E ZK-IFS at Taupo on 11 May 2018

Helicopter Management ZK-ISG at Taupo on 11 May 2018

Royal New Zealand Navy Kaman SH-2F Seasprite NZ3617 at Taupo on 11 May 2018

Piper Malibu ZK-ORZ at Taupo on 11 May 2018

Return to Wanaka?

Air New Zealand is considering restoring flights to Wānaka as part of a plan to grow its regional network by 20 per cent during the next five years. The airline copped flak for its handling of its pull-out from Kāpiti earlier this year, however, chief executive Christopher Luxon in a note to staff said the company was committed to ensuring all regional centres currently receiving air services would continue to do so. ''In addition, we are actively considering options for other ports, such as Wānaka,'' Luxon said. The airline flew there from Christchurch between March 2004 and 2013 through its subsidiary Eagle Air using a Beech 1900D. However, since then the tourist town has boomed and Wānaka Airport has expanded, with occasional charter and private jet flights. The Otago Daily Times reported in March that tourism injected an estimated $502million annually into the Wānaka economy, creating jobs and sustaining livelihoods. The region has been ranked the top in New Zealand for percentage growth in visitor spend for more than two years, recording 17 per cent growth this past year on top of 20 per cent growth the previous year. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has been a vociferous critic of Air New Zealand's provincial operations and yesterday again attacked the airline after revelations of domestic fare increases. ''The people of Gisborne, the people of Whangārei have pointed out the flights are so regularly cancelled that they're wondering whether Air New Zealand should permanently own a bus service,'' Jones said. In his note to staff Luxon said the regional aviation market in New Zealand had never been more vibrant or healthy. ''Air New Zealand competes with Jetstar, from the four times larger Qantas Group, in the bigger regional centres'' The airline pulled out of Westport, Whakatāne and Kaitāia following a review in 2014. Luxon said the airline was losing $1m a month, or $52 per customer on a return journey, flying to 15 towns across New Zealand in inefficient and expensive 19-seater aircraft. ''Clearly it would have been unsustainable and irresponsible not to confront this reality – so we totally overhauled and reset our regional business and network to deliver sustainable future air services and lower pricing to regional customers,'' he said. ''The bottom line is that we have grown our services to regional New Zealand at twice the rate of New Zealand's GDP growth and at the same time have been able to lower average regional fares by 6.25 per cent since 2015.''

Source : https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12051933

Norfolk Island Tours

Pukekohe Travel, which has for a number of years offered tours to the Chatham Islands in conjunction with Air Chathams, is now advertising week long tours to Norfolk Island using Air Chathams. Three tours are currently being offered departing on 25 October, 1 November, and 8 November. For tour details see :

https://www.pukekohetravel.co.nz/escorted-tours/south-pacific-islands/a-week-on-norfolk.html

Whether this is a precurser to a regular service or part of a new service remains to be seen. What it does show, however, is Air Chathams are not going to enter into a new venture without having done its homework.

5 extra Dunedin-Aucklands

Dunedin's air connections with Auckland have increased again. A further five return flights a week have been added to an already busy flight schedule at Dunedin airport. The flights, announced yesterday, are a big turnaround from just four years ago when flights were being dropped and the city's business community was up in arms about the difficulty of flying to other centres to do business. Air New Zealand announced at the Trenz tourism conference in Dunedin yesterday it would start operating five additional return A320 services per week between Dunedin and Auckland from October. That would add about 70,000 seats a year between the cities, increasing capacity on the route by about 25%. There will be new 6am flights from Dunedin on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 8pm flights from Auckland on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The new flights are timed to allow Dunedin business travellers to spend a full day in the city, leaving early in the morning and coming home in the evening. The flight times also enable connections via Auckland to international destinations, without requiring long waits or overnight stays. Air New Zealand chief revenue officer Cam Wallace said yesterday the company had a good relationship with Dunedin Airport. Airport chief executive Richard Roberts, he said, was ''a force of nature'' who was regularly in Air New Zealand's head office, and the new flights were an endorsement of the work done. ''We are committed to growing services between Dunedin and Auckland and working closely with Dunedin Airport. ''Dunedin is a really important part of Air New Zealand's network, so it's tremendous to see continued strong demand for services to and from the city,'' Mr Wallace said. Mr Roberts said the news of the extra flights was ''great for Dunedin and the region''. ''It's connecting us to Auckland and the rest of the world.'' The latest statistics coming from the Government showed the tourism boom was only going to keep getting bigger, he said. ''We can sit here and do nothing and it will grow. It's whether we want to be ahead of the curve.'' The airport helped get Air New Zealand to sponsor and work with iD Dunedin Fashion Week, so the relationship was for the betterment of everybody in the city and region, he said. Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull said while he had not had time to process the news, on face of it the announcement was ''absolutely fantastic''. ''Because we're a small city, that connectivity can only help us.'' It showed how well the city was working together with companies like Air New Zealand, he said. Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dougal McGowan said the announcement was the culmination of the work of many different groups. ''It's the response to a demand and shows the strength of Dunedin's relationship with Air New Zealand.'' Business leaders in Dunedin were ''very busy'' creating and maintaining relationships with New Zealand's largest city, he said.

Source : https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/extra-auckland-flights-great-dunedin

Air Auckland - the new name for FlightHauraki

FlightHauraki has been officially renamed as Air Auckland. The company's two aircraft, Cessna 172 ZK-MDV and Piper Navajo ZK-JGA were registered to Air Auckland on the 5th of December 2017 but now the company's Facebook page has been changed. As yet a new website has not been launched.

Previously FlightHauraki ran a scheduled air service from North Shore Airport to Whangarei and Kerikeri and from North Shore to Great Barrier Island. The base was later moved to Ardmore from where the airline operated a schedule on the Ardmore-Waiheke Island-Great Barrier Island route using Cessna 172s, a 206 and 207 and a Piper Archer.

For a fuller history on FlightHauraki see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/flight-hauraki-new-zealands-newest.html

Norfolk Island Update

While there has been a lot of focus on a potential Air Chathams' service to Paraparaumu, progress is also being made on a possible service to Norfolk Island. There have been a couple of Norfolk Island Regional Council Mayor's update posts on the Norfolk online news website.

On the 29th of the March 2018 the Mayor wrote...  

VISIT OF DELEGATION FROM AIR CHATHAMS "I am sure the community would agree with me that the visit of the delegation from Air Chathams — CEO Craig Emeny, General Manager Duane Emeny and Airline Adviser Noel Gillespie — was well timed and positively received", Mayor Adams said. "It was a pleasure for the Deputy Mayor Cr McCoy, the General Manager Lotta Jackson and myself to welcome the Air Chathams team to Norfolk in the arrivals hall on Monday and my thanks to Australian Border Force District Manager Alex Jamieson-Wilby for the courtesies he extended to us all. I particularly thank the Administrator for hosting a reception at Government House to give key tourism operators and stakeholders the opportunity to meet with the Air Chathams team. Councillors had broad and informative discussions with the Air Chathams team Tuesday afternoon and I can assure the community that the conversation between the Council and Air Chathams will definitely be ongoing", the Mayor said. "My thanks to Bart Murray for providing the opportunity and venue for us to meet"

Then on the 20th of April 2018 the Mayor wrote...

AIR CHATHAMS "In my Mayors Update on 29 March I reported on the visit of the delegation from Air Chathams - CEO Craig Emeny, General Manager Duane Emeny and Airline Adviser Noel Gillespie — and at the time I said that I could assure the community that the conversation between the Council and Air Chathams will definitely be ongoing", Mayor Adams said, "It is therefore good news that I can report that at the meeting of Council last Wednesday the 18th of April Council passed a resolution to authorise the General Manager to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement with Air Chathams. With the delegation of authority to the General Manager in this matter further updates will in the main be provided by the General Manager," the Mayor said. 

I look forward to hearing about the further updates...

  

Source : http://www.norfolkonlinenews.com/ni-regional-council

Air NZ not an Option

Reinstating an air service out of Masterton would not necessarily be a panacea for Wairarapa’s transport ills, says Air New Zealand’s regional affairs manager Ian Collier. In Masterton at the invitation of the Wairarapa Chamber of Commerce, Mr Collier encouraged the community to have a conversation about an air service but said it should be considered as part of a wider look at the region’s transport requirements. “I absolutely think the conversation is worth thrashing out . . . but you need to look at it from a holistic point of view – in the past we haven’t had that,” he said. “It may be that the region is better served by rail, if money is put into it.” Air New Zealand ran a service in Masterton through its subsidiary, Eagle Air, from 2009 until it was cancelled in 2013 due to a reduction of the Beechcraft fleet of 19-seater aircraft. The smallest aircraft it flies now is a 50-seater. In 2014, Masterton District Council accepted a proposal from Vincent Aviation to operate weekday flights over its rival, Air Chathams, but the company went into liquidation later that year and the service never eventuated. Mr Collier said making the route economic and attractive to customers would be challenging. Along with a large enough customer base, an air service would have to be able to offer to attract passengers in sufficient numbers, run a schedule that was more attractive than driving to Wellington or Palmerston North where there are multiple flights each day and contend with competition among operators. “We’ve already said we don’t see a future in Air New Zealand flying in and out of Masterton,” Mr Collier said. “But we have also said there is a conversation about air services to be had.” Mr Collier said a discussion on the region’s transport needs should involve roading and rail representatives, as well as air service providers, and central government. “If we are invited to the table, we will contribute. We have a view from 35,000 feet up, and this is what we are looking down,” he said. If a smaller operator was to take up a Masterton-Auckland route, Mr Collier said it would be challenging to set up the infrastructure and systems to offer a service that allowed passengers to check-in baggage in Masterton and have that automatically transferred to a connecting Air New Zealand flight. “You have to be prepared to put your brand and reputation on the line. “If your bag doesn’t turn up, I know where you would turn to for answers.”

Source : https://times-age.co.nz/planes-or-trains-and-automobiles/