Airport at odds with Air NZ over fares

Ticket prices for passengers flying in and out of Invercargill would not come down until the city's airport company reduced its landing fees and airport charges, a senior Air New Zealand staffer said this week.

Air New Zealand has been in the spotlight in the past week, with southern leaders calling for cheaper and more frequent flights to the city.

The company's domestic airline general manager Bruce Parton yesterday said Invercargill Airport's per-passenger landing fee charge was almost double that of comparable-sized airports elsewhere in the country.

Air New Zealand was in continuing talks with the city's airport bosses, including manager Barry Bouton, "but they aren't bringing them (landing fees) down", Mr Parton said.

"If Invercargill was to offer us a cheaper per-person rate for landings and airport charges, that would allow us to have cheaper airfares."

However, Mr Bouton yesterday said Mr Parton was talking nonsense and Air New Zealand should be reducing its ticket prices regardless. If airfares were cheaper, more people would use the city airport and Air New Zealand would be charged reduced landing fees, he said.

Invercargill Airport charged Air New Zealand a landing fee of $311 for each ATR domestic aircraft coming into the city, equating to $4.64 a passenger, Mr Bouton said.

It did not charge the airline for planes leaving the city.

"At $4.64 per passenger, it should have little, if any, effect on ticket prices."

He acknowledged Invercargill's landing fees were higher than other airports in the country that hosted more flights.

About nine passenger aircraft flew into Invercargill each day.

Former Wellington mayor Mark Blumsky, in Invercargill this week to generate ideas to establish Invercargill as a destination in its own right, said there was no doubt Invercargill was one of the most expensive places to fly into and out of and more domestic flights to the city were needed.

He believed the issues could be solved if community leaders developed a strategy and vision and worked with Air New Zealand to implement it.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Jez   #1   11:39 am Mar 11 2010

Flight from inv - chc, 1 adult, 26 march, $218.

Of that $218, $4.64 is charged by Invercargill Airport, leaving $213.36 as the responsibility of Air New Zealand, and for Air New Zealand to adjust accordingly if they were serious about cheaper flights into and out of Invercargill.

Obviously they view transit into and out of Inv as a cash cow due to the near neccesity of air travel to and from Invercargill. I would be surprised if any flights to or from Invercargill weren't among their most profitable to the carrier of all flights they do.

Personally i'll drive the 2 hours to Dunedin airprt and catch another flight provder before I pay the exorbatant fares Air New Zealand charge. There's also more leg room in my Mazda than in those aircraft.

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