I was in Palmerston North last week and was amazed at how many ATR flights it gets... up to 10 per day to Auckland and 5 to Christchurch... Similarly Napier gets up to 11 per day to Auckland, 5 to Wellington and 4 to Christchurch.
One wonders if there is a case building for some regional jets and if so what, Airbus 220, Embraer 195???
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| ATR 72-600 ZK_MZE on the departure from Palmerston North on 30 September 2023 |
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| Massey Aviation's Diamond DA40 Star ZK-MTJ at Palmerston North on 30 September 2023 |
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| My ride to Christchurch, ATR 72-600 ZK-MVH arriving on the gate at Palmerston North on 30 September 2023 |
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No regional jets please.
ReplyDeleteOne of the charms of flying from Palmy is not needing to worry about security screening (though the lack of destinations is becoming a problem - expecially since the transfer link to Welington was removed)
Completely agree with you 100%.
DeleteAlso having the frequency that Turboprops can offer is awesome. I would much rather have 10 ATR flights on a route than say 6 RJs.
Frequency might not matter much to the normal leisure traveller, but to those of us who travel often for work/business, time is money, and regular, frequent flights is key. I'm usually around 6-8 Regional flights a week at the moment, and I certainty appreciate Air NZ and the options/timings they provide to 'most' Regional Ports.
Not having the Wellington connection is a right pain in the behind. I was a VERY regular user of the service, and they were more often than not pretty full. With the train only running once daily, the only option is to hire a car and drive. And one way rentals are expensive! I have taken to flying to WLG via a CHC or AKL connection. Might take longer than the drive, but it is cheaper at times!