Published 4 Feb 2016
The Air New Zealand PR machine wound up again last week during a parliamentary select committee hearing. In response to Napier MP Stuart Nash telling airline boss Christopher Luxon that “the biggest barrier to doing business in Hawke’s Bay was the price of airfares”, Mr Luxon responded by claiming the airline was adding an additional 29 500 seats to Hawke’s Bay services this year. This is less than a 5% increase or just one daily return service using the airlines smallest aircraft the Bombardier Q300 or just five return flights a week on the larger ATR 72. Interestingly at the same time the airline announced an additional 100 000 seats between Auckland and Queenstown.
He did not reveal the division of the extra seats over the 3 existing Hawke’s Bay destinations so it is unclear how exactly these extra seats will be provided and whether there will be any improvement on Wellington or especially Christchurch services where prices still seem very high and ground alternatives unappealing. Probably few people realise that 29 500 seats is actually less than one quarter the135 000 additional seats now being provided by Jetstar’s 4 daily return flights between Napier and Auckland. Air New Zealand may have the lions share of local passengers but it is Jetstar who are providing most of the growth.
Checking Air New Zealand’s forward schedule reveal no significant change in either the frequency or the mix of aircraft on Hawke’s Bay services for the rest of the year. Perhaps the increase has already been implemented as a result of the change from 50 seat Q300 aircraft to the larger 68 seat ATR 72 on most Auckland flights. The airline should now be required to specify exactly how these extra seats will be provided if only to ensure services are improved.
Thank you Stuart Nash for bringing this issue up in the formal environment of a parliamentary select committee.
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