The owner of a small airline that has started Auckland to Whangārei flights says the first week has been tough going but there are signs bookings will pick up over summer. Fly My Sky chief executive Keith McKenzie said ''a couple'' of flights had had no passengers but bookings were picking up. ''The loads have been fairly light but that's what we expected,'' he said. The airline flies from Auckland to Great Barrier Island and Whangārei with a 10-seater Britten Norman Islander twin-engine plane. The aircraft carries a maximum of nine passengers on the Auckland-Whangārei route. ''It's not as busy as we would like but I think word of mouth will help.'' One-way fares start at $99 and that includes a 23kg bag. The airline flies into Whangārei twice daily from Monday to Friday, departing from Auckland at 6.55am and 1.25pm and leaving Whangārei at 8.25am and 2.50pm. McKenzie said an advertising campaign to start this week should help boost bookings and more summer travel should help. Poor road links to the North should also help persuade drivers to fly rather than drive. The aircraft also flies over Auckland city on its way to Auckland Airport which was much like a sightseeing flight. Fly My Sky operates four Britten Norman Islanders from Auckland Airport. Although the airline operates in competition with Air New Zealand, McKenzie said there has been good support from the national carrier in Whangārei. Fly My Sky has only about a tenth of Air NZ's daily capacity between Whangārei and Auckland. He said he has been flying for 53 years and the airline uses only twin engine planes because it flies over water and at night.
Something about this seems appropriate....?
ReplyDeleteSurprised - Not. It's all been said before on a previous post, but I'm not thinking the odd holiday maker will make any difference
ReplyDelete"The loads have been fairly light but that's what we expected."
ReplyDeleteUm well why on earth did you start flying the route then??? With this expection in mind how could they have decided that this route would be financially viable?
That's like starting a restaurant in between big well known restaurants run by famous chefs and knowing you won't get much business.
Just dumb.
Just a really dumb move. FMS owners haven't invested a cent in years, expect heaven and earth from the staff who were allready struggling with the barrier run due to unreliable aircraft and unrealistic expectations. The owners of FMS haven't invested a cent into WR, but expected the staff and fleet to be able to cope with the additional work load. Real pig headed stuff. Just been reading the other posts about FMS and in particular the islander. Don't get me started as to what a horrific aircraft they are!!!!
ReplyDeleteHehehe, I don't miss flying islanders at all. They are pretty horrific and I would think most people who have booked with Fly My sky on the route would be in for a rude shock just about the time the throttles go to the firewall on takeoff. There's a reason that there are barely any operators still flying the islander in N.Z.
DeleteLet's not get hung up on how bad the BN2 is. It's a fantastic aircraft built for short sectors into short strips. It's getting long in the tooth but still has a place in some cases.
ReplyDeleteThe 208 is the modern replacement, albeit some have (and always will) reservations flying it at night or over water. At the end of the day the 208 isn't perfect either and many have come to misfortune one way or other.
The argument here is why on earth FMS think that they can tap into a market with little marketing, and a product that doesn't offer a point of difference.
Perhaps they should have looked at TRG? That pairing doesn't sound like it would work, so why would WRE.
Having said the above, I was involved with GBA for many years, I have always said that the 208 will offer a point of difference on the island run and will survive the long run.
A product that doesn't offer a point of difference? What makes you think that? Fly My Sky are offering a very different product. Try slow, cramped, cold or hot depending on the day, leaky and mind numbingly noisy. The islander specialises in all of the above. All very amusing to watch it unraveling.
DeleteHehehe, ain't that the truth
DeleteHow do they expect to gain any market share with their only product differentiation aspects being slower, louder, and more inconvenient than the competitor. Prices are often cheaper on Air NZ when booking in advance too, I give this flight until January...
ReplyDeleteMe thinks someone has been sniffing avgas for way too many years if they think they can make this route work financially! The only ones making money will be the FMS accountants as they wield their red pen across the unbalanced no profit and all losses sheet. Reading this article there are a lot of if's and's and maybe's from the owner of FMS. Seems to me he is staying true to the old adage of how do you make a small fortune out of aviation...... start with a large one. To pin your hopes on the travelling folks over summer not wanting to drive on northern roads is fool hardy and somewhat naive one would have thought from a business perspective. The average family of 4 travelling return on this route is a minimum $792, then factor in hiring a rental car at the other end and the cost far out weighs the inconvenience of driving. The average car will use less dollars in petrol for a return trip than the one way fare so economically it doesn't even stack up for one person to fly this route if time is not an issue. Then the icing on this cream cake was the comment that they only fly twins because of operating at night and over water. What a load of bollocks.... twins can crash just as easily as single engine aircraft, the baron that went down out off the coast of Raglan proves that. No matter how one tries to spin the bullshit the travelling public will always, if given the option go for a single engine turbine powered aircraft over an old twin piston powered machine. Why.... because they see the turbine as a more modern engine and a safer option because after all that's what Air New Zealand have on their planes.
ReplyDeleteYes but go back even 10 years, and that wasnt so much the case. Peoples psyche has changed towards single engine planes. I'm sure that attitude plagued Sounds Air in the early days. I would agree that the shift is real, and people would much prefer a more modern Single Engined aircraft, then a old multi piston one.
ReplyDeleteI believe Sounds Air have been instrumental in helping shift the public's attitude towards flying on Single engined aircraft
I personally don't like flying in single engine aircraft and I am experienced air traveler. I would say, most are travelers would agree with me.
ReplyDeleteI would say without doubt you are wrong. Most travelers will not agree with you, they'll simply get on with their life, taking advantage of an EXTREMELY safe form of transport. As the recent jet accident demonstrates, you have a lot more to be worried about than the number of engines. But you keep perpetuating the myth ;-)
DeleteI think you'll find the thousands of people that fly Sounds Air every year would probably disagree with you :/
DeleteWhat a bunch of negative whiners, how does it affect any single one of you? Good on him for giving it a go! Maybe it won't be successful, maybe it will, but stop being so small minded and consider the benefits to the industry when these operators give things a go. Crews getting experience, logging twin hours, rising through the ranks, engineering getting business, fuel sales etc etc etc
ReplyDeleteGotta love keyboard experts who have never risked a single cent of their own money on a venture!
It most certainly effects me as I am a supplier to a small GA airline (not FlyMySky) and I haven't been paid for 3 months. We are talking near on $100k. It is extremely irresponsible to not do due dillegence on a route, spend money and then no pay your bills "because aviation is a tough game". Not only that but the staff who are expected to just make it work. Do you realise how stressful it is to be a line pilot in a GA airline? Loading the plane, checking in the pax, boarding the pax, fuel, SAR time, weather, weight and balance, payment of tickets. Way too much work for one person however that is the way most GA airlines work. So it lost definitely effects a lot more than just the owner. But thanks for your ignorant opinion.
Delete"What a bunch of negative whiners".
DeleteThe muppet who commented with all this optimism clearly doesn't understand there's more to the aviation scene than just hoping for the best. You can't comete against an airline who has a monopoly on the regional NZ market without being certain it is financially going to work out.
"Crews getting experience, logging twin hours, rising through the ranks, engineering getting business, fuel sales etc etc etc". Yep that's nice honey, who's going to pay for that stuff when they're getting little to no passengers?
Just a blindly constructed comment by whoever you are.
I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, but perhaps it's irresponsible for you to do work without doing diligence and certainty of getting paid? Ummmm.. where is the difference between what you have done and what you think FMS are doing??? A classic pots and kettles scenario!
Delete"Do you realise how stressful it is to be a line pilot in a GA airline? Loading the plane, checking in the pax, boarding the pax, fuel, SAR time, weather, weight and balance, payment of tickets. Way too much work for one person however that is the way most GA airlines work. So it lost definitely effects a lot more than just the owner. But thanks for your ignorant opinion."
Yes, only too well, it's called a career choice! Sorry, but it's simply the way it is in GA and always has been, sure it can be hard work and stressful, but what terrific experience most get from doing their job! I guess you have a better way to run a small GA airline? Oh, and you're welcome :-)
"Muppet"... Sorry, no place for optimism in this world is there! Gotta be negative about everything... :-)
You asked how does it effect us? I responded with my case as to how it effects me and being owed a lot of money. In regards to the way GA pilots are treated yea I do have a better idea actually - FIND A VIABLE ROUTE. Sounds air, Chatham, even Barrier all have rampies as they have viable operations!!!!!! If you can't afford a rampie YOUR OPERATION isn't VIABLE. There is by enough room for two airlines on the barrier route - end of story. Shut up shop, sell your scrap metal aeroplane and forget about it.
DeleteOk, we're not really getting anywhere here, or being constructive, but..
DeleteYou think FMS should shut up shop and forget about it because you don't think they'll get paid (sell tickets)??
Is it YOUR intention to shut up shop and forget about it?? After all, you have obviously not done your due diligence and worked for someone not in a position to pay
Where is the difference between what you are predicting for FMS and what you have DONE?
Give them a break and some credit for being able to continue operating for many years in a very marginal industry, and SUPPORT your industry
If every small aviation business was to shut up shop because things are marginal, where will the industry end up?? Is there no longer a place for the mum and dad business in New Zealand?? Every CPL will be trained by Massey for direct entry into AirNZ?? What a fun world you guys want to create!
You're all hell bent on criticizing anyone who wants to follow their dreams! Sure some don't work out, but good on them for trying.
it sounds to me like you are thinking like a Pilot, not a business person. The reality is that I had been working with this airline for nearly 20 years. Now they are not flying much and are probably going into liquidation. I had a long term relationship with them???? What idea do you have to check if a business is still solvent after 20 years of working with them. My overall business is still profitable. I don't care how Pilots get to Air NZ. I care about suppliers and staff being taken for a ride with minimum wage and non payment of accounts along with stressful invironments due to owner operators of airlines not doing thier due dillegence on a route then expecting staff and suppliers to carry them when it doesn't work. Believe it or not, not all pilots and staff actually want to work at AIr NZ so the GA industry needs more robust operators, doing profitable work with modern aircraft - like sounds Air, Milford flights etc etc.
DeleteI'll be Surprised if the passengers are Delighted with the Islander.
ReplyDeleteSlow start? Maybe a slow middle and very quick end will be the fate of this route. Must be bleeding out faster than a drunk in a knife fight.
ReplyDelete