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| With Waitangi Day this week Air New Zealand was running a reduced schedule into Hokitika this week and so Bombardier ZK-NEZ operated the only flight on 4 February 2019 |
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| Passing through Hokitika on 4 February 2019 was Rans S-6ES Coyote II ZK-DYM |
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| Enjoying the Hokitika on 4 February 2019 sun were Anderson Helicopters Aerospatiale Squirrel ZK-HKA |
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| and Anderson Helicopters Robinson R44 ZK-HRY |
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| And out at the Hokitika Gorge was Precision Helicopters' Aerospatiale Squirrel ZK-ILN... Watch for more on Precision Helicopters new operation |
Hence why I flew out of WSZ. Air NZs schedule into HKK is a right joke :(
ReplyDeleteThere are dozens of towns in Australia, far bigger than Hokitika, that don't even warrant a weekly bus service let alone regular flights to a main centre.
DeleteYou don't know how good you've got it.
I am well aware of that. But please also take into consideration the catchment area of Hokitika Airport. HKK has gone from a 4-5 flight a day schedule with smaller planes, to a twice daily schedule with larger planes. The current schedule makes it impossible to day a days business in Auckland or Wellington like you once could.
DeleteWith 4 19 seater aircraft, that's only 76 seats per day. With 4 50 seater aircraft, that's 200 seats per day (more than 2.5 times as many). The extra flights would just be dropped anyway, or, as a worst case scenario, all flights.
DeleteRubbish. The last time they operated the usual double weekday return on a Waitangi Day resulted in just 4 pax.
ReplyDeletebusiness passengers are the life blood of the service.
Anyone that suggests the service could be any better than the current demonstrated demand on one of the countries cheapest air routes clearly has no idea how the industry works and should cease commenting.
For the two above comments. I am WELL aware that HKK would not support 4 Q300s a day. I am not a idiot. Of course the schedule would be light on a public holiday, most sectors do have a reduced schedule on a Public Holiday.
ReplyDeleteMy OP was making reference to the fact that Air NZs usual schedule on the CHC-HKK sector is a joke for business travel. I was referencing the fact that we did have 4 flights a day with smaller aircraft at times that suited the business community of the Coast very well. Yes with the withdrawal of the 1900D, 2 Q300 flights is all HKK is likely to see. My beef is with the schedule, not the aircraft.
And yes, sorry I do know how the industry works, 33 years in aviation gives me a pretty good right to comment. You clearly have no idea of the difficulties of running a business on the Coast. My weekly trips to Auckland, and then to Wellington have been made harder since Eagle Airways have gone. Hence why I am using the likes of Sounds Air more and more. Even The Westland Mayor flies Sounds Air out of WSZ when he has meetings in Wellington. I can get to Auckland before 8.30am using Sounds and Air NZ via WLG compared to 12pm on Air NZ through CHC. And coming back on Air NZ through CHC means I would have to leave at 2pm. Flying via WLG and Sounds gives me until 4pm. That gives me a solid working day in Auckland.
The 1900D fleet was withdrawn after a network review by Air NZ following an aggressive media led campaign, supported by many moaners regarding cost. The PM John Key was forced to ‘have a word with Air NZ’
DeleteAir NZ had been carrying a loss on the route operated by Eagle as it was, and without favourable continued public support ( everyone moaning about price) the fleet was excited and the subsidiary closed down.
To continue to serve the regions that were sustainable, more than $300 million was spent buying new ATRs to trickle down the Q300 fleet into Eagles old routes.
This eventuated in the frequencies and lower average costs per seat we see today reflected in the fares.
There was no other way around this. Sorry it doesn’t work for you connecting to a auckland. Invercargill until later this year faces an even greater connectivity issue with Auckland. But this is able to be resolved through public support and existing infrastructure.
The west coast connection is optimised for the fleet that is present, the demographic of the market and the costs the public are prepared to foot to travel.