NZ News

The results were – Ease of starting: better 33%, no noticeable difference 67%, worse 0%. Spark plug fouling: not as bad 60%, no noticeable difference 40%, worse 0%. Fuel vapour locking: no noticeable difference 91%, more often 9%. Fuel contamination/handling problems: fewer 6%, no noticeable difference 77%, more 7%. Static rpm/manifold pressure (as applicable): higher 11%, no noticeable difference 88%, lower 1%. Carburettor icing: less often 3%, no noticeable difference 91%, more often 6%.

Asked if operating aircraft with a restricted certificate of airworthiness had been a problem, 6% said yes, 92% no and 2% had no answer. Had pilots been generally happy operating on mogas: yes 98%, no 0% and a no answer from 2%. Asked if aircraft modifications were required for mogas, 98% said no and 2% yes.

Meanwhile oil companies have warned users of mogas that the use of synthetic petrol produced by a recently completed plant in Taranaki could cause problems.

The synthetic petrol, produced from natural gas, is the only gasoline in the world that contains Durene, a substance that becomes waxy under cold conditions and can clog filters and carburettors. The product from the Synfuel plant is being blended with ordinary road petrol.

Civil Aviation’s director of airworthiness, Mr ‘Riz’ Heald said his division would be talking with the oil companies and a technical assessment of the alleged hazard would be made.

Ansett Prepares for War With Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand’s Managing Director, Mr Norman Geary, has promised to throw up ‘one hell of a fight’ if an Ansett-backed Newmans Air tries to muscle in on the national carriers main trunk domestic routes. The fight has a good chance of being staged.

Late in June, the New Zealand Commerce Commission consented to Ansett Airlines buying 50% of Newmans Air and Sydney-based Brierley Investments buying another 30%.

As this copy went to press, only the approval of the Overseas Investment Commission was awaited. Since a legal barrier restricting overseas ownership in New Zealand airlines to less than 25% was removed a few weeks earlier, approval was thought to be fairly certain – though Civil Aviation Minister Richard Prebble had hinted earlier that it might depend on the ability of New Zealand interests to get reciprocal rights to invest in overseas airlines.

Meanwhile, Ansett’s Sir Peter Abeles recently told the Auckland press that the proposed takeover was ‘no publicity exercise’.

Competition would come more in the form of service rather than in any major price war, although lower prices were possible, he said.

He did not see it as unfair that Air New Zealand could not compete with Ansett on Australian domestic services. “I do not even concern myself worrying about that. There is no competition in New Zealand at the moment, but there is in Australia”.

Sir Peter said an Ansett-backed Newmans would first of all replace its existing de Havilland Canada Dash Seven aircraft with Dash Eights. Ansett would then provide three or four Boeing 737s for major routes. Operations would be managed from an Auckland headquarters and aircraft and equipment would probably be on lease to Newmans. Ansett also has beaten Air New Zealand in winning the rights to manage newly formed Cook Islands International Airlines (refer Airline Affairs) and will tie in with Qantas to stage package tours via New Zealand across the Tasman with passengers flying domestically with the revitalised Newman Air.

Mr Geary meanwhile criticised the Commerce Commission for not consulting with Air New Zealand before giving the Ansett clearance.

He said, “Ansett has recently entered into a very close commercial relationship with Qantas, including preferential business arrangements. Ansett, through its own and its wider commercial interests, is deeply involved in travel retailing and all aspects of transportation, which could influence the commission. Were the implications of these taken into account? They certainly would have been had we been consulted. ”

Meanwhile, a survey has shown that a competitive air service on main trunk routes is overwhelmingly supported by travel industry executives and passengers.

The results of the AGB: McNair survey showed that 87% of travel executives polled favoured the formation of a new airline to offer competition on domestic main trunk routes. 68% of internal air travellers were also in favour of the establishment of a competitive new airline. Of those who travel mainly for business reasons 81% were in favour of a second airline.

Conducted shortly after the announcement of the Newmans Air, Ansett and Brierley joint venture, the survey was based on a sample of 53 executives from all major sectors of the travel industry.

The sample of 151 domestic air travellers was drawn from the three main centres and designed to reflect the relative patterns of air travel from each centre.

Regulated Fares Dying a Natural Death

Whatever became of the Ministry of Transport’s unique scheme to regulate the price of all overseas air tickets sold in New Zealand? The Gilbertian plan was unveiled about three years ago by the former Government and set in motion by the Ministry intent on policing the policy, literally to the word.

At an initial cost of $280, all agents and ticketing officers were ordered to obtain a large official binder which, almost on an hourby-hour basis, they were meant to slot in and amend all fares as they arrived by telex or post from Wellington. No fares were exempt – they ranged from Aeroflot’s services into deepest Siberia to the ‘approved’ rates on the North Atlantic.

The outcry was enormous but unavailing. Even the smallest agencies were faced with taking on extra staff to cope with the deluges of paper.

Then Sir Robert Muldoon lost the election to a Labour Government which was unusually strong on market practicalities, if short on socialistic principles. With a few well chosen expletives, the new Minister of Civil Aviation, Richard Prebble, kicked the system into touch- and never got around to replacing it.

Despite the fact that international fare prices are still officially ‘regulated’ and the occasional grouch from the national carrier, fares sold in this country as the agents put it – become ‘de facto deregulated.

The Ministry’s paper fares still exist, but cheaper fares are now easily obtained with the minimum of shopping around and the Ministry seems little inclined to wield the rod. A July survey came up with the following examples: The approved one way advance purchase fare Auckland/ London $1752 – available for $1200 (all fares in NZ dollars); approved Auckland/Sydney one way economy $468-available for $320; approved Auckland/Los Angeles early purchase return fare $2289-available for $1550.

What has happened is that the Government has slipped any fares policy it might have considered into ‘neutral’ and the system is freewheeling, with a little judicious application of the brakes from time to time. Travellers and outside airlines are happy and the system has taken the heat out of local demands that international services follow the domestics down the full open skies road.

Some of the pressure for international open skies actually came from within the Government, the Tourism and Publicity Department, which is keen to see tourism increased and anxious to check a fall off in the proportion of long haul travellers flying into Australasia and visiting New Zealand.

Safe Air Opts Out of Commuter Services

Safe Air has cancelled its plans to move into third level airline passenger services, apparently because of a prolonged industrial dispute with its pilots.

The Blenheim-based airline which is wholly owned by Air New Zealand was well advanced with the scheme and had evaluated three light twin engined turboprop aircraft for the job. The airline disposed of the last of its Bristol Freighters earlier this year, but will continue operating Argosy freight aircraft.

Safe Air’s decision to move into passenger services was largely seen as a measure to maintain an Air New Zealand presence within the commuter market, following deregulation of domestic services. Air New Zealand’s Managing Director, Mr Norman Geary, said it seemed a role the airline was well suited to, with the reduction in freight services.

Previous plans to replace the Freighters with Fokker Friendships were vetoed by Air New Zealand.

However, for the past six months Safe Air has been bogged down in talks with the Airline Pilots’ Association over pay rates for crews to man the light twins.

In June, the airline’s general manager, Ron Tannock, wamed that the future of the company was threatened by the protracted talks. The Ansett-backed expansion of Newmans Air would put extreme pressure on the already marginal provincial and third level services.

Announcing the decision to shelve the third level plan, he said the economies of a commuter airline were now clearly adverse and the risk in beginning such an operation was unacceptably high.

The airline employs thirty nine pilots and between six and eight would now be made redundant, though talks would continue with the Association. No ground staff would be affected and the propeller and engine branches of the company were particularly strong with fresh technical contracts.

Briefs

• Following an investigation which suggested that some Boe- ing 737 flights from Auckland to various Pacific islands were overloaded by nearly two tonnes, Air New Zealand and Polynesian Airlines have reduced the number of passengers accommodated on the machines. The investigation showed that much of the added weight came from the burly build of Tongans and Samoans. They also carried more baggage than the average passenger. Polynesian has reduced its maximum number of passengers from 105 to 88, while Air New Zealand will carry 100 its 113 seater aircraft.

• Japan Air Lines and Air New Zealand are to increase their weekly services between Auckland and Tokyo from two to three, giving a total of six 747 flights each way. The Japanese Ministry of Transport agreed to a temporary increase from next November to March, but it is understood this will become permanent. JAL plans to replace its DC-10s on the route with 7478 in October.

• Civil Aviation statistics report that land based aircraft increased by 457 (to 2012) between 1981 and 1985; amphibians by 3 to 19, hot air balloons by 2 to 12, rotary wing aircraft by 54 to 312 and gliders by 48 to 298. Hours flown by aircraft between 1980 and 1984 demonstrated a downward trend, with one exception: domestic scheduled services increased from 80,121 hours to 104,488. International services dropped from 27,214 hours in 1980 to 19,534 in 1984; taxi charter and light domestic flying from 31. 226 to 24,392; aerial work from 162,217 to 106,843 and aero club training from 91,560 to 72,938.

• Rotorua agricultural pilot Hamish Ross plans to establish an agricultural aviation museum on the outskirts of the city. Ross, who began topdressing in 1965 with the Adastra company, now operates his own business. Among the aircraft offered as a base for the collection is a Fieldair Dakota and a Transavia Airtruck.

• New Zealand’s first corporate jet, a Falcon 20F, has arrived on lease to the Nelson based Goodman Group. The group already operates a small Beechcraft fleet, with a Beech 300 about to join it. Configured in a nine seat executive fit, the 500mph cruise fanjet Falcon was considered the most suitable aircraft with trans-Tasman capability to fit Nelson’s runway. The leased 20F will be replaced by a new Falcon 200 early next year which will be New Zealand’s first locally owned corporate jet.

• Avcorp has set up a Corporate Flight Centre at Auckland Airport. The operation is similar to the fixed based operators (FBO) in the United States, offering line maintenance for corporate aircraft, an area for their crew to attend to flight planning and a private lounge for passengers.

Fireflys Enter NZ Service

Auckland’s Waitemata Aero club has taken delivery of two ‘plastic fantastics” – otherwise known as Slingsby T67B Fireflys. The Yorkshire-built Firefly is believed to be the world’s first type certified all GRP series production aircraft – some 98% of the airframe is fibreglass. According to club manager Allan Loveday, these are the first two to be shipped south of the equator. The two-seat Firefly is fully aerobatic and its most striking feature is the glass-like smoothness of the whole machine. Waitemata pilots say “slipperiness’ showed up markedly in the air; it builds up speed very rapidly in an engine-out dive.

The club is using the aircraft for training as well as aerobatics, taking the load off some of its eight year old Piper Tomahawks. While yet to be fully substantiated, the club believes the aircraft has the potential to outlast conventional metal aircraft both in airframe life and in the early ‘maintenance easy period. Slingsby’s test aircraft has completed 1. 4 million cycles in its test rig, equivalent to 50 years flying and the major breakages so far have been in the rig.

The club decided on the Firefly after a lengthy evaluation of the few training aircraft available on both sides of the Atlantic. The aircraft, priced at about $NZ140,000 is powered by a Lycoming 160 and cruises at 105 knots.

Loveday describes it as a particularly well put together machine. From the time of the arrival of the first crated aircraft, it took the club just seven days to assemble the machine, test fly it and gain a type approval certificate of airworthiness.