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According to the Air Chathams' website Fairchild Metroliner III ZK-CID is due to enter service today flying the afternoon services between Auckland and Whakatane and return... Thanks to MRC Aviation captured Air Chathams' second Metro outside their hangar at Auckland on 3 July 2016.
Can confirm that ZK-CID did enter service on the Whakatane route on July 5th. According to the local newspaper, this aircraft had been an air ambulance before being refitted for its new role.
ReplyDeleteAny chance of you scanning the article for me - just for my records. CID more recently was used as an air ambulance... It also saw service with Air Nelson, Origin Pacific and NZ Post... see http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2016/04/another-metroliner-bites-dust.html
DeleteTook over schedule from CIC yesterday avo.
DeleteWhy did it take over from CIC if CIC is the Whakatane plane?
DeleteTaking it over as in giving their new toy a revenue test run (airlines do this from time to time or for charters, much Air NZ does, like the 787 to Wellington), not actually taking over permanently. Also from time to time, there may be a scheduling overlap/delay where for example, they will have to use CIC on the Whanganui run and CID on the Whakatane run. Much like Taupos PC12 would do a couple of runs to Westport or Westports PC12 gets scheduled in to do the Blenheim to Napier run. Someone with the correct aviation terms will explain, but you will never have a exclusively run route with a particular aircraft.
DeleteBesides, great advertising for Whakatane, having their aircraft fly into Whanags from time to time or great for Air Chats to have their marked Metro fly in to Whakatane to remind the locals this little Island airline rescuing them from being cut off from the Air NZs trunk line ...
One question for everyone...
Will we see Air Chats flying the Saab from time to time to Whakatane...? A 30 seat Saab may be a bit more logical than their optimistic 50 seater CV580 flights they originally wanted to do for 19,000 Whaka. Will Air Chats see more of a opportunity for the CV580 to fly sufficiently to Whanganui, a city of 43,000 population not mentioning drawing on the various townships nearby...(Hawera is just as close to Whanganui as it is to NPL and just as smooth drive, not to mention the five od towns in the Naki region between Hawera and Whanags. Also, let's not to forget the Centeral Plateau townships.. although the Paraparas are a little windy, could people from the likes of Marton and Huntersville see Whanganui as a alternative to driving to Palmy.? Could Air Chats poach back all of these people heading to Palmy, fly on a "peoples" plane haha)
Could the Metros then be used for new routes such as the Whanags(Air Nelson spent a while on this route with their metros, Eagle air chugged along 10 years with the costly B1990Ds, would the metro be able to offer more returns and cheaper tickets than Sounds air air vans...?)/Whakas Wellington routes or could we finally see the much awaited MRO-AKL route..?
Because maintenance.
DeleteWhanganui-Wellington. What is the true story/history behind this route and could it ever become something..?
DeleteAir NZ did this route for the best part of 20-25 years?? Air Nelson from the beginning, flew it with their Metros (to what extent would their flights would have been profitable/loadings relating to the Metros..?) Then Eagle air took it over with their B1900Ds when Air Nelson retired their Metros back in 01/02.? They chugged along through to 2013 when they decided to pull it from their network.. As we would learn. The B1900Ds were more costly to run than the A320s hence the price you paid for in the tickets.. 20-25 years of service is a long time.. what % of that was profit and what aircraft got the best results.? Then you had Sounds Air. Two years they tried with their airvan... $125 was decent, but Palmy offered just too good a deal I'm guessing...? Or was it more the fact that a single engined air van and a lack of understanding/a little daunting for the everyday person or was it their speed, as they definitely not anything like the hot rod B1900Ds or the Metros that the public would have been used to.? Would things been different had Sounds Air had their PC12s avaliable for this route... Now to the Question..?
Would a more understanding with single engine aircraft from the public and a pressurized high-speed PC12, could Sounds air make a better go at it or.. Could Air Chats make it work at a profit with their Metro, and with it, offer a slightly cheaper rate than what a PC12 got or even the fares SoundsAir offered whilst using the Air van. Would they get even consider using the Commander.?
I guess what I am asking is.. Just how much of a market is there for this route ie Sounds air effort or just how much of a profit or a charity airline was Air NZ back then, for it to run this service for a good 20 plus years.?
Sounds like you should be running an airline
ReplyDeleteWAG-WLG has in some ways always been a loser. Air NZ used to run it but not at peak times. Didn't work. Eagle Air tried it before its tie up with Air NZ at peak times. Didn't work. When Air Nelson and Eagle tried it as part of Air NZ Link with peak times. Didn't work. Sounds AIr tried it with reasonable fares. Didn't work. Why? Biggest competitor is the car
ReplyDeleteExactly. Car to PMR 55 minutes. To Wellington City 2 hours 20 minutes. The only reason to fly south from Whanganui is if you are headed beyond Wellington (South Island, North Island East Coast, Overseas). The only reason to fly north to WAG is if you are originating from those locations, not Wellington. None of those places generates enough passengers, and the greater frequency and larger aircraft available at PMR makes the available loads to WAG even thinner. In the days of Friendships etc the route was "propped up" by flying through Taupo or even Whakatane as well! Sounds Air's Caravan is probably acceptable to about 60% of the population (single engine, toilet/hostess issues) - but the lure of Airpoints, Koru lounges; the convenience of connecting all the way on Air NZ etc means that only about 40% of possible travellers will even consider a Sounds Air option going south to/from Whanganui. Over the past year Air NZ tried hard to make WAG work with the Dash, gained reasonable loadings through major fare discounts but got numbers not yield. Air NZ has now recognised WAG will never work for it. However Air Chathams has it right northbound and will do well - with an Air NZ-quality service and much local support.
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