22 January 2015

Westport's Reaction



Sounds Air will provide Westport’s new air service after Air New Zealand bails out in April. The Buller District Council and the airline today announced a six-year partnership for the new air service. Pending Civil Aviation approvals, Sounds Air will take over on April 28 – the day Air New Zealand exits. Sounds Air has bought a nine-seater pressurised Pilatus PC12 for the new service. It will fly between Westport and Wellington daily, except Saturdays, offering 26 flights a week compared to Air New Zealand’s 20. Mondays and Fridays – the busiest days of the week - will feature three return flights. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will provide two return flights. The first flight will leave Westport at 6.15am. The last flight will return at 6.40pm. Air New Zealand flights leave Westport later in the morning and return earlier in the evening – a timetable that hasn’t suited businesspeople in particular. On Sundays, Sounds Air will offer an evening return flight. Air New Zealand currently offers a lunchtime flight. The Sounds Air plane, and its pilots, will be based in Westport. The 40-minute flight – 10 minutes faster than Air New Zealand’s – will cost $199 each way for adults and $179 for children, including a 20kg baggage allowance per person. Unlike Air New Zealand’s prices, Sounds Air’s don’t fluctuate depending on when passengers book. A joint council/Sounds Air statement said the Pilatus was a high-class turbo prop, single-engine passenger plane, supported by renowned Swiss company Pilatus International. “The plane has a proven track record and is currently used extensively in both Australia and America. We are excited to bring it to New Zealand for scheduled services. “It is an excellent fit for both the volume of passengers we have and the weather and terrain in our region. The plane is fully pressurised and features the latest technology and safety measures. Passengers will notice high levels of comfort and low noise.” The statement said the Westport service heralded a new era in air services for the West Coast. “The advantages for Coasters are a schedule which we determine, a guaranteed six-year term with rights of renewal, and the potential to negotiate further flights and/or destinations as demand dictates, all within the security of a long-term partnership. “We are now able to deliver an improved schedule to residents which meets the needs of our business community, alongside options for recreational users.”

Cost to ratepayers?


It appears the service could come at a cost to ratepayers. The News has been told the council has guaranteed a minimum number of seat sales and will have to put up cash if the number falls short. Buller Mayor Garry Howard declined to comment today. “We will be releasing details of how ratepayers are assisting ensuring this service has come about within the next two weeks. It’s fair to say that we have made some obligations but there’s no money being put up front and there’s no subsidy of air fares.” Air New Zealand averaged 12 seats sold on each 19-seat Westport flight, he said. The News has spoken to a number of people who said they would not fly on a single-engine, single pilot, nine-seater plane. Mr Howard is sure the new air service will win them over. “These planes are used by the flying doctor in Australia. There’s 55 of them in operation. Why would the flying doctor use a service that isn’t as safe as possible?” Civil Aviation data showed the incident rates for single-engine planes were equivalent to those for twin-engine aircraft, he said. “It will take away any concerns people have.” At least one of the two other airlines vying for the service had proposed using a 19-seater plane. Mr Howard said the other airlines had put forward some good options, but in each case a Westport service would have had to fit with their other scheduling. The other airlines were only prepared to “give it a try and see what happened” – which could have left Westport in the same position as it faced with Air New Zealand’s withdrawal. “If Air New Zealand can’t operate a 19-seater economically, what makes us think another company can operate a 19-seater economically? “We were after a bigger, longer-term, secure service.” The council had set the current schedule and would be able to change it, because the plane would be based here. The aircraft would also be available for charter work, he said. “This is the start of a process. More flights can be scheduled and further services will be looked at… It’s really exciting what it opens up, not only for Westport but potentially for Karamea.” Sounds Air was in the processing of buying a second Pilatus PC12 as a back-up. Mr Howard said the council would be releasing further “really good news” soon on further benefits of the new service. He and Westport Airport Authority chief executive Sonia Cresswell also acknowledged Air New Zealand’s support during the transition. They said the airline had shared important data and gifted equipment to the Buller council, which will help ensure a seamless transition between the two airlines. Customers will be able to book through the Sounds Air website from Monday, January 26 www.soundsair.com or via free phone 0800 505 005 (New Zealand only) or phone 0064 3520 3080

Source : Westport News, 22 January 2014

15 comments:

  1. To suggest that a PC12 is as safe as a twin is delusional. PT6s have a somewhat undeserved reputation for being 100% reliable. They can (and do) fail, the most recent event of which was in NZ a couple of weeks ago. The first engine failure and inevitable crash that follows to happen to a single engine turbine airliner operating in NZ (statistically just a matter of time) will, in my opinion, signal the end of the general public's trust in them.

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    1. It will be interesting to see what the accident report says on the Taupo incident... It is perhaps to premature to say what the cause was

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  2. I Agree,

    "Aviation data showed the incident rates for single-engine planes were equivalent to those for twin-engine aircraft"

    The only significant difference is that when one quits on a twin you have another one!

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  3. To the two previous posters .Who are you working for ?
    Single engine IFR in NZ safe as .

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    1. Is that a joke? Even if your overhauls are done by P+W Canada themselves there is no way you can 100% guarantee that your engine won't die.

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    2. They don't get refurbs. They only install brand spankers new motors.

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  4. Soundsair has a very good - if admittedly not perfect - safety record operating single engine turbine aircraft on single pilot IFR ops. Like all operations of the kind, the risks which are well known will have been identified and mitigated.

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    1. Agreed that Soundsair have a very good record, and they're well known for immaculately maintaining their fleet and sparing no expense.

      There is only so much you can do, though, to mitigate the effects of a PC12 or C208 having an engine quit mid-Strait in a 50kt Southerly on a mid winter evening in darkness. There will be lives lost, and single engine IFR in NZ will take a massive hit.

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    2. The management at Sounds Air fought incredibly hard over many years for single engine IFR for turbo props to be implemented in NZ - as it was in many other developed countries - and finally achieved it. Instead of flying along at 500 feet just under the cloud across the Cook Strait as per VFR, they now cross at 5000 feet under IFR - and in the unlikely event of an engine failure are able to glide to land while being closely monitored by Control on the ground. Single engine VFR operations are far more dangerous, and cause lives to be lost - not single engine IFR.

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    3. I think the other real danger, whether it be single engine or multi engine is that fact that the aircraft are being flown single pilot. A single is a lot easier to manage than a twin when there is only one of you

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  5. I'd feel a lot safer in a PC12 than a dirty old, fully loaded Aztec that Sun Air operate. People have a false sense of security when they hear the word 'twin', these light piston twins are lethal and shouldn't be able to operate under 135/125

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    1. Of course, the only real safe bet is a multi turbine like a King Air. In saying that I'd much rather be in an ancient Aztec with an engine out than the same in a brand new PC12...

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    2. I wonder what would have the higher Rate of Descent in this situation haha... A fully loaded King Air will struggle to maintain altitude, there are some horror stories out there

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    3. A PC12 ditching is a more survivable event than an Aztec drifting down on one engine (as they have horrible performance, the 'spare engine' will literally only take you to the scene of the crash). Taking into account design and construction methodologies of both types in question. Anyone who'd rather be in an Aztec is without doubt a screw loose and a touch delusional. But folks, all this nonsense debating is pointless, aviation is a form of transportation that comes with inherent riaks and is / will never be fool proofed to the 100% risk free standards that you cotton wooling naysayers are looking for. If single engine IFR above 20k ft (good gliding stats, if you think about it) then go hitchhike back to where they think the earth is flat and the sun revolves around the earth.IIt's progress, don't be so scared of it.

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  6. "Instead of flying along at 500 feet just under the cloud across the Cook Strait as per VFR, they now cross at 5000 feet under IFR"

    So why do you hear them requesting VFR at 3000 feet?

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