NZ | Airports + Aviation News

[UglyBob]

Dunedin still has both airbridges; I used them last October and April ...

[Mad-Mastertonian]

Air New Zealand will launch a new direct service between Masterton and Auckland from Monday 16 February 2009.

The new route will be operated six days a week by Eagle Air, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, utilising a 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft.

Eagle Air General Manager Grant Kerr said today he was thrilled to expand the airline’s regional operations into Masterton.

Mr Kerr says he is expecting particularly strong interest for the new service from business travellers throughout the Wairarapa.

“There are a number of private and public sector businesses in Masterton that have strong connections in Auckland and elsewhere on the New Zealand network,” he says.

“The new schedule has been designed primarily to meet the needs of business customers, with a 7.05am departure from Masterton and an early evening return service. We will also be offering a service departing Masterton on Friday evenings to suit customers looking to spend the weekend in Auckland.”

Mr Kerr hopes the new service will stimulate tourism into the Wairarapa – one of New Zealand’s leading wine regions - by making it even more accessible to leisure travellers.

“Wairarapa region is an extremely attractive destination for both New Zealand and international travellers. Customers wanting to spend a weekend in wine country or attend events such as Toast Martinborough will now have the advantage of being able to fly into the region directly, rather than having to fly into Wellington or Palmerston North and then travel by road.”

Mr Kerr says the new service will also benefit international travellers by making it more convenient for them to connect to flights from Auckland.

Masterton Mayor Garry Daniell today welcomed Air New Zealand’s move, saying the improved links between Wairarapa and Auckland would boost business and tourism within the region.

“This service is going to be great for Wairarapa, putting us even more firmly on the map. There’s something for everyone here, be it a family holiday or a weekend getaway with our award-winning wines in mind.

“And the business community will certainly benefit from being able to easily get in and out of Auckland in one day,” Mr Daniell said.

Mr Kerr says Air New Zealand has been working very closely and constructively with the Masterton District Council over the past year and was appreciative of their strong support for establishing a commercial air service into the region.

Lead-in online fares between Masterton and Auckland begin from $105 one way per person and will be available for purchase on www.airnewzealand.co.nz from mid October.

The following schedule is effective 16 February 2009:

Departs Arrives Days
Masterton-Auckland 0705 0820 Monday-Friday
Auckland-Masterton 1830 1945 Sunday-Thursday
Auckland-Masterton 1900 2015 Friday only
Masterton-Auckland 2030 2145 Friday only

Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs, contact 09 336 2761

29 September 2008

[KIWIKAAS]

Originally Posted by UglyBob

Dunedin still has both airbridges; I used them last October and April ...

Interesting. When I was last at DUD Airport in Feb 2007 the main air bridge was gone. The only remaining one (the old Ansett NZ air-bridge) was unused and rusting.

You can also see that the main air-bridge is gone from this pic.
The air-bridge used to be connected to the terminal ay the (our) right flank of the main viewing area. You can see the old Ansett air-bridge to the far left of the pic. Maybe that air-bridge is back in use?

[UglyBob]

Well I can assure you that there's at least one fully operational unless I managed to levitate from the plane to the terminal ...

[NZ1]

Transtasman 'domestic' routes could cut fares

SYDNEY - Transtasman flights are set to be reclassified as domestic routes, removing stringent immigration procedures and cutting fares by up to 30 per cent, according to an Australian website.

Quarantine, security and immigration issues have to be addressed to make the route a common border, the Sydney Morning Herald website
said.

An Open Skies bilateral agreement is already in place, relaxing the rules for carriers flying between the two countries.

After two years of discussions, Australian and New Zealand customs are planning trials to clear passengers before they board flights between the countries.

Three Australian automated border processing "smartgate" kiosks were installed at Auckland International Airport last September to speed up entry into Australia.

Air New Zealand, Qantas, Jetstar and Pacific Blue believe the move could result in fares being cut by up to 30 per cent, the website said.

The trials will look at creating a clearance system similar to those used for passengers travelling from Canada into the United States and in Europe across European Union countries.

Once they are cleared at their point of origin passengers enter any port as a domestic visitor.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10558081


---

Great news, considering that the customs and boarder protection fee's amount to a large proportion of the overall fare.

[Davee]

Makes a lot of sense to me.

Getting around Europe now is so easy without all the passport hassels and money changing that use to go on. I think it would be a good move for NZ & AUS.

The world almost see us as one anyway.

[Richard7666]

Originally Posted by KaneD

Why have the airbridges all been removed? I thought Airbridges were a thing that you got when the airport had matured.

Given that Dunedin have international flights, and also have jets to Auckland and Wellington, why would they be removed? This seems like a backward step to me... same for Hamilton. And yet, Invercargill, who don't have international flights, and barely has jet flights gets one? Go figure?

What about baggage claim carousels? Apparently Nelson airport is the 4th or 5th busiest airport in terms of traffic movements and it doesn't have a bag claim carousel.

Lol, IVC also has a baggage carousel. It is pretty backwards, isn't it, but I think it's all tied up with one of Tim Shadbolt's little obsessions (international flights) which hasn't eventuated yet.
Nelson airport could be brought up to these standards too if the city also elected a former drug hippy as mayor, perhaps.

[Richard7666]

Originally Posted by KaneD

Why have the airbridges all been removed? I thought Airbridges were a thing that you got when the airport had matured.

Given that Dunedin have international flights, and also have jets to Auckland and Wellington, why would they be removed? This seems like a backward step to me... same for Hamilton. And yet, Invercargill, who don't have international flights, and barely has jet flights gets one? Go figure?

What about baggage claim carousels? Apparently Nelson airport is the 4th or 5th busiest airport in terms of traffic movements and it doesn't have a bag claim carousel.

Lol, IVC also has a baggage carousel. It is pretty backwards, isn't it, but I think it's all tied up with one of Tim Shadbolt's little obsessions (international flights) which hasn't eventuated yet.
Nelson airport could be brought up to these standards too if the city also elected a former drug hippy as mayor, perhaps.

[Sukkiri]

No more Regency Duty Free at Auckland Airport - they were pretty crap anyway...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10557532

[whooodaman]

[IMG][/IMG]

[Milan Luka]

OK, so the aircraft on the right is Air National but who the hell flies a Canary Yellow Boeing 737?


edit. Ive just thought- is it ex Freedom Air?

[whooodaman]

Originally Posted by Milan Luka

OK, so the aircraft on the right is Air National but who the hell flies a Canary Yellow Boeing 737?


edit. Ive just thought- is it ex Freedom Air?

Airworks new colour I think

[Davee]

Yuk.....looks like a pile of flying pus.

[NZ1]

Sky blue would be a nicer colour!

[KaneD]

BTW, the new control tower at Chch airport is taking shape nicely - It can now be seen towering over the neighbouring buildings from the nearby State Highway 1

[whooodaman]

By GRANT MILLER - Manawatu Standard

Palmerston North could work with Hamilton to try to bring an international airline to both cities for the second time.

"There could be an opportunity to work jointly, but we've not progressed beyond identifying that opportunity," Palmerston North International Airport chief executive Garry Goodman said.

Though he has talked with Hamilton International Airport chief executive Chris Doak about the possibility of an international airline using both ports there was no immediate prospect of a return to international flights in and out of Palmerston North.

The city's trans-Tasman flights ended in March last year when Freedom Air was wound up. Air New Zealand is to stop Hamilton's trans-Tasman flights next month.

Palmerston North's first trans-Tasman flights were in April, 1996, when Freedom Air operated a triangular route also involving Hamilton and Australian destinations.

Freedom Air was set up by Air New Zealand to take on low-cost competitor Kiwi Air in Hamilton.

At that stage the Palmerston North airport runway was 1500 metres long enough for aeroplanes to take off to Hamilton, but not to Australia.

Direct international flights to and from Palmerston North started in 1998 after the runway was extended to 1902m.

Mr Goodman said the arrangement with Hamilton was a remedy for Palmerston North's infrastructure constraints a situation that no longer applied.

However, it might now suit some airlines to fly into two New Zealand destinations (Hamilton and Palmerston North) instead of one to boost their market share, he said.

It could offer efficiency in terms of marketing energy and aircraft use, he said.

However, securing an international airline was difficult in a "challenging environment".

It was a difficult time for airlines to be making big commercial decisions, he said.

Trans-Tasman passenger numbers were holding up "reasonably well", however, so the market remained ready to be tapped.

Treating Australia and New Zealand as a single domestic market would help, he said.

There had been no real progress lately with OzJet, the airline that abandoned Palmerston North three days before the scheduled launch of a trans-Tasman service a year ago.

OzJet, under new ownership, has indicated it wants to try again.

Despite lacking an international carrier, the airport has pressed on with asking Palmerston North City Council to complete the regulatory process necessary for closing Milson Line.

The airport wants to close the well-used road the most straightforward route between Palmerston North and Feilding to enable another extension of the runway and allow the airport to create safety zones at each end of the runway.

Under new regulations, the safety zones are necessary for airports accepting international flights.

Why does the airport still call itself international?



"We remain international capable," said Palmerston North International Airport chief executive Garry Goodman.

The airport was in dialogue with several airlines about coming to Palmerston North, he said, though nothing has been confirmed.

Do staff receive international-sized salaries at a domestic airport?

No. Staff that remained after layoffs almost a year ago were paid for the use of their skills, Mr Goodman said.

Why do we still pay the $5 development levy?

A departure fee for passengers on domestic flights was introduced in 1991 to enable the airport to pay for capital improvements, including expanding the airport terminal and improving roads in the vicinity.

The levy helped meet the cost of interest on projects funded by loans it paid for past development.

With development on hold, why was the fee ongoing?

The levy was paying for a lot of the improvements passengers currently enjoyed, Mr Goodman said. Borrowing for the building that now exists would not have been possible without the fee, he said.

The airport also still planned on developing further.

[canterburywatch]

Originally Posted by KaneD

BTW, the new control tower at Chch airport is taking shape nicely - It can now be seen towering over the neighbouring buildings from the nearby State Highway 1

Yeah its looking awesome... Much taller than I anticipated and still more to go up. It is certainly becoming a significant landmark in the city.

[Richard7666]

Someone post a pic of this control tower...a landmark, you say? Must be impressive indeed

[KaneD]

Hamilton & Palmy services?... Pie in the sky stuff IMHO

Here is why...

1) Economic Conditions

Although loadings might be holding up on the tasman for now, it would be fair to say that we are still in unknown territory at the moment as far as the economic recession goes so having a 'newcomer' airline start up operations into a regional centre would be tough going.

2) Route Profitability

The NZ-OZ routes are some of the more hotly contested and cut-throat routes out there and it would be fair to say that it would be rather difficult for a newcomer airline to be profitable when it has no brand recognition and is flying to a secondary centre. As it is, it is a struggle for the mainstream airlines to be profitable on the tasman routes so I don't see how a new entrant would.

3) Economies of scale

To run an international airport, an airport requires additional staff and infrastructure such as customs, immigrations, security and more. Much of this has a set cost and that cost is borne by all the passengers that use it - The trouble is that with smaller airports, there are less passengers to spread the cost amongst. This of course either makes the airline less profitable if they absorb the cost, or more expensive for the consumer if its added to the ticket.

4) Long term

In the relentless restructuring of airlines worldwide, there is more and more drive to improve efficiencies and much of this comes from centralising services - The freight shipping companies are doing it by reducing the number of ports that their ships call at, and so too do airlines.

I think that it is mostly a waste of time trying to develop international services to NZ regional centres - The only real exception to that is that NZ regions that have a strong international 'pull' could possibly do it such as Queenstown. Rotorua may possibly be able to manage it but other than that, no other regional NZ centre really cuts it.

The reason for that is that airlines require seats to be filled 'both ways' to become efficient. To fill seats both ways, you have to have populations at both ends which are likely to be attracted to the 'other end' - So Queenstown can do it because Queenstown is an attractive destination for people in Brisbane, and Brisbane/Gold Coast is a reasonably attractive destination for the Central Otago community. In the case of Hamilton, while Hamiltonians might want to go to the Gold Coast, I don't see many people from the Gold Coast wanting to come to Hamilton. The same largely goes for Palmy and to a lesser degree, Dunedin.

I think that rather than spending millions trying to woo international airlines, I would see it better to develop internal infrastructure and connections with the main cities - High speed rail between Auckland and Hamilton/Tauranga/Rotorua would be better along with a greater availability of buses between the smaller towns. This makes NZ far more accessible to the World than simply having an international airline stop at every regional city in NZ.

[Davee]

Originally Posted by Richard7666

Someone post a pic of this control tower...a landmark, you say? Must be impressive indeed

Go look at the CHC airport website. The pictures are are updated every hour.