Homeward Bound

 

Enroute to Auckland from Tonga this afternoon is Air Chathams' Saab 340B ZK-CIZ which has been on charter to Lulutai Airlines operating their service between Fua'amotu and Vava'u. The aircraft positioned to Tonga on the 16th of July and began operating up to three flights a day, Monday to Saturday from the following day

Regional Boost?

 

Air Chathams is working on an infrastructure plan as it builds a case for moving its operation to Whanganui. The airline’s chief executive Duane Emeny has met with Whanganui District Council to discuss what was required to build an operations and maintenance base in Whanganui. “If it became an operational base, we would need an administrative area, training rooms, office space, all that stuff,” he said. “We will go back to them with some high-level plans.” He said it was a really exciting project. “The benefit for Air Chats [Chathams] is one would hope we would be paying 50% of what we have to pay at the moment for market rate here in Auckland for our lease. That is a significant saving every year and if we can get our team motivated to make the shift, your average living costs in Whanganui compared to Auckland is chalk and cheese.” The airline carried 4013 passengers on the Whanganui-Auckland route in August, slightly more than the same month last year but down by around 370 on pre-Covid-19 numbers in August 2019. Emeny said the route was the airline’s most profitable of the three it operated in the North Island but revenue was still down by 5-10% on last year. It was dangerous to judge success on passenger numbers alone, he said. “I could do 5000 [passengers] next month by dropping the fares by $50 but I won’t be able to pay my bills.” Council chief executive David Langford said a relocation would be great for the airport and the economy but there was “a fair bit to work through” before a deal could be done. Price-wise, Whanganui was a lot more competitive than bigger centres, he said. “It’s as much about selling what a great place Whanganui is. “Businesses want to make sure their staff have good quality of life and plenty of choice when it comes to housing. “Then, how competitive we are in terms of the cost of rates and leases.” On June 1, landing fees for Air Chathams’ SAAB 340B rose from $111.90 per arrival to $174.92, then to $216.79 on July 1. However, the bigger ATR aircraft, which currently flies in and out of the city four times a week, is charged the same landing fees as the SAAB, saving Air Chathams around $33,000 a year. Langford said businesses planning on moving to the district could be offered discounted leases on council-owned land - for the first year. “We can also do deals around a rates holiday, particularly if they are a start-up building and have to go through a period of construction. “Council misses out on a small bit of rates in the short term but it means we bring more businesses in that pay more rates in the long term.” In April, Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe said there had been discussions about Air Chathams expanding its service to Christchurch. “We think there is an upside for them to expand their network and grow their business, but also for us to attract different customers to Whanganui,” he said. During the council’s long-term plan (LTP) process, Emeny proposed the council invest in the route instead of building a parallel taxiway at the airport. He said a move to Whanganui and a Christchurch route were “definitely still on the table” despite the current economic climate. “You have to start planning for when conditions are better and they’ll support it.” Langford said as part of the LTP, money was put aside for strategic planning around land use at the airport. “We do have land that could be developed and we could build more hangers and lease them out to airport users. We’ll do a little bit of planning and make some small investments which should bring money into the council, which means we don’t have to charge so much in rates.” He said conversations with Air Chathams would continue. “They provide a really valuable service and keep us well connected up to Auckland. We would love to welcome them here. They would be a great addition to Whanganui.”

Source : https://www.nzherald.co.nz/whanganui-chronicle/news/air-chathams-building-case-for-move-to-whanganui-from-auckland/3XGWJ65ZX5BFTOZO37EXVJTTJY/#google_vignette

Regional Cuts

 

Those in the deep south will soon have fewer options to get to the North Island as Air New Zealand pulls the pin on its Invercargill to Wellington service. The flights will stop from January 19, 2025, the airline has announced. Air New Zealand general manager domestic Scott Carr said the decision has come down to global engine maintenance issues putting aircraft out of service, coupled with a softening of demand domestically. “As a result, we have had to make the tough decision to no longer operate the direct Invercargill to Wellington service from 19 January 2025. Customers will still be able to fly to Wellington via Christchurch. We will be adding additional flights between Christchurch and Invercargill to ensure there is sufficient capacity. Those who are already booked to travel will be re-accommodated, the airline said. “We know this change may cause inconvenience for some, but we want to assure our customers that we remain committed to connecting Invercargill to our wider network via the direct Christchurch and Auckland services.” Carr said a significant amount of care and planning goes into ensuring its domestic network services communities as well as possible, while also ensuring its operations are financially sustainable. Air New Zealand currently flies two flights a day between Invercargill and the capital Monday to Friday. It flies from Invercargill on a Saturday morning and with a return flight from Wellington on Sunday evening. Last month the airline celebrated five years of direct flights between Invercargill and Auckland. Southland Business Chamber CEO Sheree Carey said the news was “disappointing”, particularly for businesses and people who rely on the “vital” link to the capital. “Direct flights play a crucial role in fostering connections for business travel, tourism, and personal journeys, and losing this service could impact our local economy and accessibility,” Carey told Stuff Travel in a statement.“Despite the challenges presented by the discontinuation of this service, we remain optimistic about the future of air travel in Southland. “It’s essential that we work together to enhance our regional connectivity and explore new opportunities for air services that can support our local economy,” Carey said. The Southland Business Chamber encouraged all stakeholders, including businesses and community members, to engage in discussions with Air New Zealand and other regional partners to find solutions that will ensure continued growth and accessibility for the region.

Source : https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/350434687/air-new-zealand-scraps-wellington-invercargill-route

NXJ off to NLK

Beechjet 400A ZK-NXJ was departing Auckland for Norfolk Island on 23 September 2024

 

CIZ in Tonga

A big thanks to Alan Breen who sent through these photos of Air Chathams' Saab ZK-CIZ at Vava'u earlier this month. 

Alan also caught Harbin YS-12 at Vava'u... I need a trip to Tonga to fly in this but in saying that I have still yet to fly in an Air Chats Saab or ATR!

 

Airwork Freighter

Airwork's Boeing 737-400 freighter ZK-TLM being towed to the international apron on 23 September 2024

 

An interesting link

Grayson sent me an interesting link today on the annual migration of the British Antarctic Survey aircraft to Antarctica... https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240912-the-12-stop-flight-across-the-world-in-a-60-year-old-plane  The article featured a picture of Falkland Island registered De Havilland Canada VP-FAZ and I was fairly sure I'd photographed it...

British Antarctic Survey DHC Twin Otter VP-FAZ at the South Pole on 22 December 2008

Also there on the same day were Kenn Borek Air's DHC Twin Otters, C-FSJB...

...and C-GKBG.

The following day I returned to McMurdo on US Air Force Lockheed LC130 Hercules 33000 seen here arriving at South Pole on 23 December 2008

International Airbuses

Auckland Airbus movements on 23 September 2024

It's interesting how Auckland used to be largely a Boeing airport

Domestically now it is all Airbus and the international Airbus carriers are also growing

Malaysian Airlines' Airbus A330-200 9M-MTY

Singapore Airlines' Airbus A350-900 9V-SMO

Qatar Airways Airbus A350-1000 A7-ANN

China Eastern Airbus A350-900 B-32FP

Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000 B-LXD

Fiji Airways Airbus A350-900 DQ-FAN

Solomon Airlines Airbus A320-200 H4-SIB

Qantas Airbus A330-200 VH-EBS

Jetstar Airbus A321-200NX VH-OFU

 

Jet Freighter to the Chathams

 An interesting post from Doug Whitcombe's amazing Aviation Aotearoa Facebook page...

Rekohu / Chatham Islands will welcome its first ever Texel Air Australasia aircraft next week.

(First visit by a Boeing 737 aircraft too.)

Texel will operate it's inaugural freight flight from Auckland Airport to Tuuta - Chatham Islands Airport on Tuesday 1 October 2024, with its Boeing 737-8B5(BCF) ZK-TXE operating the TNZ176 / TNZ175 return services.

Three other freight flights are currently scheduled, with Wednesday 9 October, Tuesday 15 October & Thursday 17 October, all operated by ZK-TXE.

AKL departure as TNZ176: 0930; 

CHT arrival: 1145.

CHT departure as TNZ175: 1345;

AKL arrival: 1430.

More Texel Air Australasia freight flights between AKL & CHT are potentially in the future schedule.

Doug suggests that  these current flights are due to the ship that is meant to be operating between Chathams & the Mainland being currently out of action.

Air Chathams on Monday

Saab 340A ZK-CIT which operated 3C 824 to Whakatāne at Auckland on 23 September 2024

Saab 340A ZK-KRA which operated 3C 704 to Whanganui at Auckland on 23 September 2024

ATR 72-500 ZK-MCU which operated 3C 591 to the Chatham Islands at Auckland on 23 September 2024

 

All Except Delta

Barrier Air was busy yesterday, 23 September 2024, with four of its five Cessna 208B Grand Caravans on missions out of Auckland...

Bravo, ZK-SDB was off to Great Barrier Island as GBA831

Charlie, ZK-SDC was off to Kerikeri as GBA509

Echo, ZK-SDE was off to Great Barrier Island as GBA109

Golf, ZK-SDG was off to Kaitaia as GBA715

 Meanwhile ZK-SDD had been out and about in the morning and parked up at the end of the Barrier Air flight line was Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX ZK-ROW destined to become ZK-SDA

A surprise Airbus 321 capture

Air New Zealand's Airbus 321, ZK-OYE, which is yet to enter service, departed Auckland for Adelaide and Alice Springs as NZ6015 today, 23 September 2024, for storage due to the continuing Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan issues 

Air New Zealand Airbus 321 ZK-NNA off to Apia from Auckland as NZ998 on 23 September 2024

Air New Zealand Airbus 321 ZK-NNF off to Melbourne from Auckland as NZ125 on 23 September 2024

Jetstar Airbus 321 VH-OFU off to Brisbane from Auckland as JQ148 on 23 September 2024