Chief executive Duane Emeny said three return flights had been reinstated over Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. “It’s not huge, but it’s not bad when you multiply that out by 34 seats per flight,” he said. “Thank God for Whanganui, it’s a shining light in what is otherwise a pretty dismal North Island regional network at the moment.”
The airline announced in April it would reduce flights into Whanganui by 22%, after its monthly fuel costs rose from $500,000 to $1 million because of the Middle East conflict.
Emeny said fuel still cost about 20c per litre more than it did in February.
“I’m expecting there will be another increase next month, maybe 5% to 10%.
“It’s just a tinderbox over there [Iran].
“Anyone who seems to know something is predicting the middle of next year before there’ll be any normality, so that’s what we’re forecasting on.”
Renewed tensions involving Iran earlier this month have added to uncertainty in global fuel markets. Emeny said a $20 base surcharge per flight segment, introduced in March, was still in place.
“We certainly considered [removing it] and if it wasn’t for this latest round of events, we would have looked to ease it back.
“The reality is it hasn’t been very effective anyway,” he said.
“From March onwards, we saw such a softening of demand and people were choosing not to travel.”
A Whanganui Airport update report for April 1 to June 30 said there were 9279 passengers through the terminal over that period, a 23.7% drop on 2025.
“It’s bloody tough out there,” Emeny said.
“Margins are thin at the best of times, and then you have something like this happen.”
He said the only positive to come from the fuel crisis was an “elevated conversation” about regional aviation, especially in Australia. Emeny told the Chronicle in April that the Western Australian Government had pledged $122m to its regional aviation sector through to 2031.
“You have to be able to quantify the value of these regional air links and reframe it,” he said this week.
“Instead of looking at it as individual private businesses doing their thing, what’s the value to New Zealand Inc in having those connections?
“And, what’s the loss if you don’t have them?”
The 10-year anniversary of Air Chathams entering the Whanganui market was coming up, and he would be in the city to meet with the business community, Emeny said. The airline’s first flight touched down on August 1, 2016, shortly after Air New Zealand pulled its Whanganui service
“I’m sure a Christchurch route will be top of mind, and there’ll be a lot of questions about basing Air Chathams in Whanganui.
“It will be nice to get down there and get some face-to-face time and feedback.”
Source: Whanganui Chronicle
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