Charter cost could sink canoe event

ROBYN EDIE/The Southland Times

TROUBLED WATER: Deep South Canoe Club boss Nichole Clark fears for the future of its national championship event in Invercargill in October.

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A Southland sports club boss fears the cost for northern competitors to fly to its national championship event in Invercargill might result in the event being a flop.

The Deep South Canoe Polo Club is to host the national championships in Invercargill in October but club boss Nichole Clark yesterday said the cost of getting the teams and their canoes to Invercargill had put the event in jeopardy.

Ms Clark said she approached Air New Zealand about northern competitors chartering a 133-seat 737 aircraft from Christchurch to Invercargill and return.

The company emailed back, quoting $26,397 from Christchurch to Invercargill on October 1 and $25,685 for the return journey on October 3. The competitors needed a 737-sized aircraft to fit their canoes into, she said, adding it wasn't feasible for them to drive to Invercargill with their gear from the North Island.

With the charter costs equating to about $390 per competitor return, in addition to any connecting flights many would also require, she feared it would discourage many from coming south for the event.

Air New Zealand domestic airline general manager Bruce Parton yesterday said the costs were not much more than it would cost a passenger on a normal Christchurch-Invercargill flight.

The charter plane would have been cheaper but the company was charging out for four flights instead of two, he said.

After dropping off the canoeists in Invercargill, the $35 million aircraft would fly to Christchurch empty – before making a pre-booked return flight to Auckland – then returning to Invercargill empty to pick up the canoe passengers, he said.

The airline had to recoup the costs of those two empty flights because the margins in charter flights weres slim, Mr Parton said.

Last week, Oceania Cycling Federation general secretary Graham Sycamore said the 2012 world junior track championships in Invercargill could prove to be a logistical nightmare for the 40 nations competing unless appropriate domestic flights became available.

Air New Zealand responded to that by saying it was willing to discuss the chartering of aircraft into Invercargill, while it was also happy to consider requests for more flight capacity for big events in Invercargill.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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