Air New Zealand look to Paraparaumu

[flyjoe180]

Air New Zealand is evaluating using Paraparaumu Airport, north of Wellington, for domestic services.

Deputy chief executive Norm Thompson says they are quite excited at the possibility. He says that is particularly so as, Air New Zealand was told by Wellington Airport it cannot guarantee they will get dedicated or preferred use of its services in the future. Mr Thompson says the comment is nothing short of astounding, given the airline is by far Wellington Airport's largest customer.

The first stage of Air New Zealand's evaluation of Paraparaumu Airport is expected to be completed within a few weeks.

home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.aspx?id=76814

[flyjoe180]

www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200709161712/air_new_zealand_eyes_paraparaumus_airport

Air New Zealand says it is considering using Paraparaumu airport, an hour north of Wellington, for domestic services.

The airline has been evaluating using Whenuapai airbase in Auckland after the air force said it would stop using it in 2015.

Air New Zealand says early evaluations of Whenuapai have been encouraging and Paraparaumu seems to be another viable option.

The airline's deputy chief executive, Norm Thompson, says Wellington airport's owners have told the airline it will not be guaranteed use of the capital city's airport in future.

He says the airline is astounded by the airport owner's lack of enthusiasm for the Paraparaumu plan.

Mr Thompson says it thinks it will face growth constraints at Wellington's airport because of the airport's owners refuse to guarantee the airline space on the tarmac.

Air New Zealand contacted all main airports to seek assurances of its position after the introduction of new airline Pacific Blue.

He says it wants the airport's disembarking gates guaranteed so it can run its existing schedules.

But he says Wellington airport's owners are refusing to do this, which Air New Zealand says affects its competitiveness.

Wellington airport says its terminals are for common use and that has been agreed by all airline users.

Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey says Air New Zealand's interest in using Paraparaumu airport strengthens the prospect of the airline also using Whenuapai.

Mr Harvey says it bolsters the concept of two regional airports. He says it looks now as though Air New Zealand's use of Whenuapai could come sooner than thought.

[flyjoe180]

Interesting to read that Wellington Airport will not guarantee Air NZ's use of the airport. I presume they mean facilities (airbridges, gates etc).

He says the airline is astounded by the airport owner's lack of enthusiasm for the Paraparaumu plan

Does this refer to Paraparaumu's owners? Not surprising, PP is a mess and is obvioulsy being run down for other future plans.

[flyjoe180]

Looks like Paraparaumu are serious about offering facilities to Air NZ, for aircraft up to and including ATR72 size. $10 million to be spent apparently.


www.stuff.co.nz/4203966a13.html

Talks with Air New Zealand to provide flight services from Paraparaumu to Auckland and Christchurch have been confirmed by Paraparaumu Airport Holdings major shareholder Noel Robinson.


His comments follow the airline's announcement that it is evaluating its domestic services using Paraparaumu airport.

Mr Robinson said he had been involved in negotiations with Air New Zealand for some time. He was prepared to spend more than $10 million up-front, to upgrade the airfield to a certifiable standard.

The company bought the airport last year for "well under $40 million". It announced a $450 million redevelopment plan, including upgrading the airport and building a surrounding business park.

"I was committed from day one to provide the community with a sub-regional airport, similar to those at Tauranga and Rotorua, with regular flights from Paraparaumu to Christchurch and Auckland initially," he said.

Mr Robinson confirmed the airport could cater for 70-seater Air New Zealand ATR72-500 turbo-props.

But much work had yet to be done, including building a new terminal.

Last year he revealed architectural plans for a 200-metre-long, $10 million terminal. It would include facilities for aviation training, aircraft maintenance and an auditorium for arts events and conferences.

Opponents of Mr Robinson's plan/zone change application, now before the district council, had feared the airport would close because of his ambitious business park plans.

Fledgling flight service air2there has been providing flights in 14-seater planes to Blenheim and Nelson in recent years.

Spokeswoman Kelly Havorsen believed expanding the airport's use to include Air New Zealand domestic services would be good.

"A lot more people use our services now and they know us. I do not think Air New Zealand services will affect our patronage," she said.

Kapiti Chamber of Commerce chairman Mike Olsen also welcomed Air New Zealand's interest in scheduling flights from Paraparaumu, calling it great news.

Redevelopment of the airport would bring important business development and economic opportunities to the Kapiti Coast, he said.

Talks between Air New Zealand and Paraparaumu Airport were also supported by local MP Darren Hughes.

"Our community strongly supports continued aviation use of the airport."

Kapiti could also benefit from the airport being used as an alternative to Wellington during weather disruptions.

The council recently appointed independent commissioners to hear Paraparaumu Airport Holdings' application for a plan change.

It will be heard about late November.

[corsair67]

Just wait until the Paraparaumu NIMBYs start whinging about the ATRs flying in and out of the airport!

Plus, how will passengers get to Wellington from Paraparaumu quickly and comfortably? If Wellington set up a decent (i.e. ditch the train carriages from the 1950s!!!!) rail link to/from the airport then this idea could really take off.

Although, I do think this could all be a bit of a bluff from Air NZ to make Wellington Airport Ltd sit up and take notice.

[Dave Homewood]

This is not a surprise, it was reported some time ago they were building a new terminal and re-doing the runways, so you know some airline activity is to step up there.

[flyjoe180]

So long as they get rid of that useless NDB.

[corsair67]

Starting with two flights/day - wow, that's a commitment!



Air NZ plans to start Kapiti flights in 2009
ROELAND van den BERGH - The Dominion Post | Wednesday, 19 September 2007


Air New Zealand plans to start flying from Paraparaumu in 2009 with at least two flights a day to Auckland, deputy chief executive Norm Thompson says.

The service would probably be flown using the new 50-seat Bombardier Q300 turbo-prop.

Air New Zealand said last week that it had ordered another two of the aircraft, which would be delivered by May 2009. "We will be putting some of that capacity into Paraparaumu," Mr Thompson said.

It was possible that the Auckland service could start with four flights a day. The potential addition of Christchurch in the longer term could eventually increase total daily return flights to eight.

Mr Thompson said the airline had initially intended to use 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft, but there appeared to be sufficient demand for the larger aircraft. Market research showed that about 100,000 people lived within a 45-minute drive of Paraparaumu, including Porirua and Tawa - which was enough to sustain a service.

Air New Zealand had been having discussions with Paraparaumu airport owners for about six months after they approached the airline. However, the situation appears to have come to a head in the last few weeks.

The airport had sweetened the deal by discounting landing fees. Considerable work was required to get the airport up to standard before services could start, including construction of a proposed $10 million multi-purpose terminal and the removal of obstacles at the end of the runway.

Air New Zealand had not given any guarantees to provide flights for a minimum time, but the structure of the arrangement "pretty much assures that the services aren't going to be there one minute and gone the next".

Mr Thompson said the plan to fly from Paraparaumu was not the result of a legal stoush between the airline and Wellington International Airport over landing fee increases. No Wellington flights would be cancelled as a result of new services from Paraparaumu, which was considered a growth market.

House of Travel Kapiti Coast owner Dermot Ryan said Paraparaumu flights would provide the region with a third option, including Palmerston North and Wellington. Both those airports were just over an hour's drive from Paraparaumu.

"It is going to be about price versus convenience," Mr Ryan said.