Airline On-Time Performance in New Zealand and across the Tasman

The New Zealand Ministry of Transport is now providing monthly reports of airline on-time performance on the main airline domestic routes and routes between New Zealand and Australia where there is more than one airline operating.

Whangarei to Auckland transport links

Between COVID19 and a very wet 2023, the transport links between Northland and the rest of the country have suffered from major disruptions. They simply are not resilient. This post is the start of an examination of the problems and some of the possible solutions. It will be edited as I add more material but let's start with SH1.

I will also look at the months-long failure of the rail link, the proposals to build a rail link to the port at Marsden Point and move Whangarei airport, and an interesting new proposal for a ground-effect service along the coast called Ocean Flyer.

Before the Labour Government was elected, its National Party predecessor had promised a four-lane highway.

The current SH1 four laneing has now reached north to Warkworth with the recent opening of a new road north from Puhoi. This was part of the previous Government's Roads of National Significance (RoNs) programme.

At the same time work has been done to improve the safety of the existing section of SH1 between Warkworth and Wellsford.

But what was investigated before the change of Government in 2017? There is still information on the NZ Transport Agency web site about what might have involved a major rerouting of SH1, avoiding both Dome Valley and the Brynderwyn Hill. See, for example, the August 2017 Programme Business Case: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/whangarei-to-te-hana/Whangarei-to-Auckland-PBC.pdf

Information about the current work programme is available from the NZTA web page on Connecting Northland: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/connecting-northland/ 

Old New Zealand aeronautical charts

In late 2021 I came across a source for scans of all the old New Zealand aeronautical charts and plates. The scans are excellent but the indexing is just about non existent when it comes to trying to isolate them out.

Go to: geodatahub.library.auckland.ac.nz 

Have a look in the Knowledge Base at the New Zealand Mapping Service section, click on NZMS_009A, NZMS_009C, NZMS_012A, NZMS_89A, NZMS_096 and NZMS_228 then click on .jpg

NZMS_006 contains hundreds of aerodrome plates and instrument procedures.

NZMS_103 covers the NZ-UK air route in 1953.

Some of the earliest charts that I could find date from the late 1930s.

Parliamentary Annual Reviews of Air New Zealand

Since the New Zealand Government took a majority shareholding in Air New Zealand the company has been the subject of annual reviews by a parliamentary select committee. The following is a (draft) list of some recent reports:

• 2013/14 
• 2014/15 
• 2015/16 
• 2016/17 
• 2017/18 
• 2018/19 
• 2019/20
• 2020/21
• 2021/22 

New Zealand to join satellite-based augmentation systems trial programme

On Friday, 17 February 2017 the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand announced that the New Zealand would be joining a satellite-based augmentation system trial programme (see third to last paragraph on page 2).

Related announcements were made by Hon Simon Bridges, New Zealand Minister of Economic Development and Minister of Transport (here), and the Australian Ministers of Resources, Hon Matthew Canavan, and Infrastructure, Hon Darren Chester (here).

Additional information is available on the New Zealand web sites of:

• Land Information New Zealand - news item
• the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment - see Summary of Initial Work Programme page 4
• the Ministry of Transport - positioning systems 
• the Civil Aviation Authority - New Southern Sky UPDATED 

See also previous post.

Microblogging

Over the last few months I have become a fan of using Twitter (posts should be 140 characters or less and URLs are usually shortened) and some of the web links that I have previously been posting here are now being sent out from @aeropolitics  It is also an excellent method for following other relevant Twitter accounts on the latest developments around the world as they happen. I will, however. be making an effort to catch up on my weblog posting.

I have also started helping the New Zealand Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society (I am a Council member) with tweets focussed on New Zealand aviation news using the brand name @aerospacenz

And I am still using @macilree for short messages of a more personal nature.

As this can often be done from my "old" iPhone it is generally a much quicker way of providing links to information that may be of interest to others.

To assist I am using Tweetdeck both on our PC and my smartphone.

NZ Commerce Commission has a win in air cargo pricing court case

On 26 August 2011 the New Zealand Commerce Commission announced that it had won a procedural judgement in the High Court in its case against nine airlines (see previous post).

Our Standard Poodles enjoy their 15 minutes of fame

Morgan and Bree, our two Standard Poodles, along with my wife Wendy and I feature in a Rugby World Cup-related article and photograph on the second page of Wellington's main newspaper the Dominion Post on Saturday, 17 September 2011. The dogs had All Blacks and England team logos applied to their fur when they were groomed on Friday.

Morgan does actually watch the television, although he tends to prefer watching quadrupeds rather than bipeds, and Bree is obsessed by balls.

New Zealand Productivity Commission International Freight Transport Services Inquiry

The new New Zealand Productivity Commission (modelled on its Australian counterpart) is conducting an Inquiry into International Freight Transport Services. The Commission is looking at both aviation and maritime services, including air and sea ports (New Zealand has no land borders).

The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry were released in March 2011 and on 13 July 2011 the Commission released a 78-page Issues Paper with 79 specific questions.

Submissions are now being made available on the Commission's web site. To date those from the aviation industry have included submissions from the Aviation Industry Association, Board of Airline Representatives NZ, New Zealand Air Cargo Council, NZ Airports Association, and Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch airports.

New Zealand Government releases transport policy direction statement

On 31 August 2011 the New Zealand Minister of Transport, Hon. Steven Joyce, released a new 44-page transport policy direction statement, Connecting New Zealand.

In contrast to the previous coalition government's 2008 New Zealand Transport Strategy (see previous post), Connecting New Zealand includes three pages specifically focussed on civil aviation.

Road safety continues to be a major priority. Also featured are the Roads of National Significance, a programme of investment in the road network around New Zealand's three main centres, and major investment in rail.

New Zealand domestic air transport trends to June 2011

Since I last looked at the trends in domestic air passenger numbers twelve months ago by charting the numbers through the three main airports (see previous post) there have been some major external shocks.

Christchurch has been hit by three major earthquakes (7.1 magnitude on 4 September 2010, 6.3 on 22 February 2011 with 181 fatalities and 6.3 on 13 June 2011) and thousands of aftershocks. This was followed by disruption caused by the 4 June 2011 eruption of Puyehue volcano in Chile.

In addition, Pacific Blue withdrew from the New Zealand domestic market on 18 October 2010 leaving Jetstar to compete with Air New Zealand. It is not surprising therefore that domestic air transport have seen some large monthly declines in the year to June 2011.

On a more positive note, the progressive replacement of Air New Zealand's domestic B737-300 aircraft (133 seats) with A320 aircraft (171 seats) can be expected to boost domestic passenger numbers. Already this has been causing congestion at the main domestic screening point at Auckland airport. On 9 August 2011 the airport company announced that this was being addressed.

I am now monitoring monthly domestic passenger numbers at Queenstown Airport and may include these in a future update.

New Zealand Government mandates air services negotiations in East Asia and South America

On 14 July 2011 the New Zealand Associate Minister of Transport, Nathan Guy, announced that New Zealand's air services negotiators had been issued with mandates for negotiations with up to 10 countries in East Asia and South America. China and Brazil were specifically named. These regions are seen as emerging markets with considerable growth potential. In addition, the prospect of Auckland (AKL) gaining a share of East Asia-South America traffic is referred to. The statement refers to the LAN-Cathay Pacific code share via Auckland (see previous post).

Auckland and Christchurch airports both made media statements welcoming the announcement.

On 15 July 2011 Flight Global (Will Horton) and Aviation Week (Adrian Schofield) covered the news. The latter noted that capacity restrictions applied under New Zealand's current air services agreements with China and Brazil.

A 21 July 2011 Air Transport Intelligence article by Will Horton notes the technology and alliance challenges Air New Zealand faces if it is to serve Brazil.

The Minister's media statement also announced the New Zealand had reached agreement with the Netherlands to remove restrictions on code sharing. This allows SkyTeam member, KLM, to code share to AKL via Guangzhou on the new China Southern operation (see previous post). KLM has been code sharing to New Zealand on Malaysia Airlines which is joining the oneworld alliance.

Royal Brunei ceasing operations to Auckland

On 21 June 2011 Royal Brunei Airlines (BI) announced that it is to cease operation to Auckland (AKL), Brisbane (BNE), Perth (PER) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) at the end of October 2011.

On 29 March 2011 Royal Brunei commenced operations to Melbourne which in future will be the only airport in Australasia that it serves.

Royal Brunei has been operating to New Zealand since 2003 under the "open skies" MALIAT.

No doubt the commencement of operations to AKL in early 2011 by four new airline operators from East Asia (see previous post) will have influenced Royal Brunei's decision to withdraw.

Alleged air cargo rate fixing case reaches court in New Zealand

The NZ Herald reported on court action taken by the Commerce Commission into alleged price fixing by nine international airlines serving the New Zealand market (see previous post) on:

9 May 2011 - "Airlines' price fix case starts in court"
11 May 2011 - "Air cargo cartel case opens in High Court"
12 May 2011 - "Qantas fined $6.5m for price fixing"
12 May 2011 - "Air NZ in court as price-fixing case gets under way"
13 May 2011 - "Qantas hit with record $6.5 million fine"
14 May 2011 - "Cartel case out of line, say airlines"

The Commerce Commission has made a number of media releases on the case:

20 March 2009 - "Commerce Commission procedure in accordance with standard best practice"
11 March 2011 - "Court of Appeal rules on use of confidentiality orders"
18 March 2011 - "Settlements in cartel case as Commerce Commission prepares for Court"
5 April 2011 - "$7.6 million imposed against two airlines in air cargo cartel case" - British Airways and Cargolux
20 April 2011 - "Commerce Commission narrows focus of air cargo cartel case before trial"
27 April 2011 - "Airlines' information request case resolved" - Singapore Airlines Cargo and Cathay Pacific
12 May 2011 - "Court awards highest penalty to date in price fixing" - this statement notes similar action taken in Australia, the United States, the European Union, Canada and South Korea

Air New Zealand has also issued related media statements:

18 March 2011 - in response to a Qantas media statement issued on the same day
20 April 2011

On 17 May 2010 the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that it was taking action against Air New Zealand. On 18 May 2010 Air Transport World reported Air New Zealand's reaction.

On 11 November 2010 the NZ Herald reported that Air New Zealand had been dropped from similar action taken by the European Commission (see previous post).

My Grandfather Edgar Thomson Shand RFC

For ANZAC Day 2011 here is a previously unpublished photograph of my grandfather, Edgar Thomson Shand, wearing his Royal Flying Corps (RFC) uniform.

Edgar Shand (28 February 1891-15 January 1938 aged 47) went to Egypt in 1916 as a Second Lieutenant (9/2027) to join D Squadron of the Otago Mounted Rifles where he transferred to the RFC (PI 7225) in 1916 (see Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 October 1916, page 10067) and trained as a Observer.

He joined 17 Squadron of the RFC and served briefly on the Macedonian Front where he was wounded in action:

"On August 19th [1916] an Army Reconnaissance was carried out over the Carniste-Valandovo area [near Salonika], the BE2c machine being escorted by a two-seater Nieuport (110 Clerget) attached from the French Aviation. This reconnaissance machine was attacked by an Aviatik which was immediately engaged by the Nieuport. In the course of the combat the French pilot, Lieutenant Ducas and the English Observer, Lieutenant Shand were both wounded. They, however, succeeded in driving off the enemy machine and returned safely to their Aerodrome."

On 20 July 1917 the Evening Post carried an account NEW of a talk he gave on his RFC experiences (HT to Dr Don MacKay).

On 2 August 1917 the Poverty Bay Herald carried his account NEW of the action near Salonika in an article entitled "Fight at 11,000 feet."

A photograph of him on the SS Galeka evacuating him from Salonika in September 1916 is available here NEW.

He was reported in a list of the sick and wounded to have disembarked from a hospital ship at Malta on 12 September 1916, reported on 4 October 1916 to be embarked for England and then reported to have arrived back in Auckland, New Zealand on 29 April 1917. His transfer to the RFC was approved on 1 August 1916 but not reported in the New Zealand Gazette until 1917.

He went on to serve in the Army (and was keep on in the Royal Air Force (RAF)) in New Zealand, first as Adjutant, Otago University Officers Training Corps and then on the staff of Colonel A. V. Bettington (see page 7 - Footnote 4: J.M.S. Ross: Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-45; Royal New Zealand Air Force: Wellington: 1955).

In Henry (later Sir Henry) Wigram's diary for 28 Aug 1919 there appears this brief mention of Shand (HT to Errol Martyn):

"Went out with A [HW's wife Agnes] to aerodrome [i.e. Sockburn, now Wigram], the machines [2 Bristol Fighters and 2 DH4s] ex Matatua were arriving and being assembled under direction of Capt [John Hallan] Don and Mr Shand, there were about 120 cases some of them 30 feet long by 9 ft high which only just squeezed through the [Lyttelton] tunnel."

My grandfather relinquished his commission on 2 February 1920 (see the London Gazette, 13 February 1920, page 1832).

Having visited Japan twice, his comments on the political and military situation there were reported in the Evening Post of 17 September 1934. He was obviously still taking an interest in military aviation.

My father, James Macilree, served as a pilot in the RNZAF in the Second World War and I have maintained the family connection with aviation.

Four additional airlines operating to New Zealand

In just the last four months four international airlines commenced operations to New Zealand and one started code sharing here. Well actually the story is a little more complicated than that.

China Airlines (CI) from Taiwan recommenced services after a decade. Its operation to Auckland (AKL) from Taipei (TPE) via Brisbane (BNE) started on 1 January 2011 (see previous post).

Jetstar Asia Airways (3K) from Singapore (SIN) started operating to AKL on 18 March 2011 in direct competition with Singapore Airlines (SQ) (see previous post). This is only the third long-haul route to New Zealand to have such direct competition on the same sector - the others are AKL-LAX (NZ and QF) and AKL-HKG (NZ and CX). Jetstar Asia is actually wet-leasing VH registered aircraft from Qantas subsidiary Jetstar (JQ) in Australia. However, Jetstar had to obtain a Foreign Air Operator Certificate from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority because the operation does not qualify to be covered by the mutual recognition of safety certification regime between Australia and New Zealand (see previous post). The new service is being provided under the MALIAT.

AirAsia X (D7) commenced operating to Christchurch (CHC) from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) on 1 April 2011 (see previous post). The airline is to be commended for persisting with the launch date despite the devastating Christchurch earthquakes.

China Southern Airlines (CZ) commenced operating from Guangzhou (CAN) to AKL on 9 April 2011 (see previous post). This is a major new non-stop addition to the set of long-haul air routes to New Zealand. The inaugural flight was welcomed by the Prime Minister John Key (he is also Minister of Tourism). The new service is being jointly promoted by the airline and Tourism New Zealand.

The excellent MRC Aviation blog has photographs of the new operations in New Zealand by CI, 3K, D7 and CZ.

Finally, Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS) from the UK commenced code sharing to New Zealand on Air New Zealand (NZ) operations on 27 March 2011 (see Air New Zealand announcement dated 12 January 2011).

The next announced airline to recommence operating to New Zealand should be United Airlines (UA) in 2012 after it takes delivery of the B787 (see previous post). United already code shares to New Zealand.

I maintain a list of international airlines that serve (and those that have served) New Zealand on my homepages.

UAE adds to its fast growing list of air services agreements

In addition to that with France (see previous post), in recent months the United Arab Emirates has announced new or enhanced air services agreements with (dates are when a statement was posted):

Ecuador - 27 March 2011
Albania - 16 February 2011
Djibouti - 15 February 2011
Bosnia and Herzegovina - 19 January 2011
Portugal - 19 January 2011
Mauritania - 16 January 2011
Cambodia - 26 December 2010
Botswana - 24 October 2010
Burkina Faso, Guatemala and Vanuatu - 11 October 2010
Panama - 28 November 2010
Slovak Republic - 18 March 2010.

The UAE has also been negotiating with:

Colombia - 19 December 2010
Venezuela - 28 November 2010

This illustrates an interesting dilemma. How many countries and territories does it make sense for a country to establish air services relationships with? ICAO currently has 188 members known as "contracting states". One wonders how many of these members the UAE is aiming to negotiate air services agreements with and how many of these agreement will eventually be used to provide international air services.

If countries are ranked on the basis of the their true origin/destination (TOD) market size (the traditional basis for exchanging restricted traffic rights), the largest markets that New Zealand currently does not have air services agreements with are Israel and then Saudi Arabia. In terms of TOD traffic, some countries with which New Zealand has air services relationships are smaller than this in terms of market size and we continue to receive approaches from countries where the end-to-end market is tiny (less than 1,000 passengers per year). New Zealand now has around 49 air services relationships.

Even if the home market one might gain access to (and through) in an exchange of air services arrangements is small, how, for example, should one take into account the size of a potential partner's airline industry (see previous post) or traffic through its main international airport measured in terms of passenger numbers when considering whether to exchange air rights? According to Airports Council International in its 2010 ranking released on 15 March 2011 Dubai International Airport (DXB) was 13th in the world in terms of passenger movements and 8th in the world for air cargo.

On 3 January 2010 UAE Interact carried a report that quoted Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) as telling Khaleej Times, "We have already signed open sky agreements with about 45 countries in the Mena region and with some in Europe, North America and Asia. We are willing to sign open sky agreement with any country which is willing to reciprocate."

New Zealand Prime Minister looks to sell down government shareholding in Air New Zealand

In a speech on 26 January 2011 the New Zealand Prime Minister announced that the Government was scoping the option of selling down its shareholding in Air New Zealand while still maintaining a majority of the equity.

On 28 January 2011 the Finance and State-Owned Enterprises Ministers released advice from the Treasury on the issue.

Air New Zealand buys stake in Virgin Blue group

On 20 January 2011 Air New Zealand announced that it had acquired a substantial shareholding in Australian airline, Virgin Blue. The following day it announced that it had taken a 14.9% stake.

Air New Zealand was subsequently required to sell down a small proportion of its new shareholding in Virgin Blue to ensure that the 49% cap on foreign owneership was not exceeded.

It is notable that Air New Zealand says that it is not seeking a seat on the Virgin Blue board. Although the two airlines are entering into a trans-Tasman alliance (see previous post) they will still be competing on services to some South Pacific islands.

South Africa leads initiative to oppose European taxes on aviation

On 11 March 2011 at ITB in Berlin the South African Minister of Tourism released a Communique supported by his country, Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Singapore and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation criticising the impact that "unilateral, discriminatory" European aviation taxes are having on long-haul destinations. The Communique received little media coverage but points to concern from a wide range of Commonwealth countries.

This follows taxation changes made by the United Kingdom (see previous post), Germany (see previous post) and Austria (see previous post).

There are very few disputes between the United Kingdom and Australasia but this seems to be one of them. The UK's 2011 Budget due to be released on 23 March 2011 may be worth watching for any movement on this issue.