New Zealand News

In mid-March however, a disagreement was developing over the frequency of these transpacific services. According to Auckland sources, Qantas was pressing for frequencies roughly in proportion to the populations of each airline’s country-five or six Qantas flights through Auckland a week to the US west coast, as against Air New Zealand’s two or three. While Air New Zealand saw this as unfair, Qantas saw it as a well justified ‘catch-up’ with the New Zealand carrier.

Other facets of the bilateral are approval for Air New Zealand to fly Auckland/Cairns, and the addition for Qantas of Christchurch/ Cairns services as well as the existing Auckland/Cairns.

The agreement should also put an end to tit-for-tat which erupted in Canberra and Wellington over both air line’s promoting NZ/Cairns services before they were approved.

Byrd Relic Un-iced

A team of New Zealand scientists has discovered the 59 year old wreckage of a skiplane lost by the 1928-29 US Byrd Expedition to the Antarctic. The Fokker 11A Super Universal NC4453 ‘Virginia’ had made a forced landing on a frozen lake near the Rockefeller Mountains, east of Little America – only to be blown away by 150mph gales in a storm on March 14, 1929.

The New Zealanders found the single-engined Fokker upside down and with its engine missing. The area was too rugged and inaccessible to contemplate recovery. During the expedition, the Fokker was accompanied by two other aircraft, one a Ford 4AT-B Trimotor which subsequently made the first flight over the South Pole.

While the Fokker remains in the ice, a US Navy Hercules flew into Christchurch after a 17 year Antarctic entombment. The aircraft made a crash landing in 1971 on Wilkes Land, about 1400km north-east of McMurdo. Salvage work began late in 1987, prompted by the $75 million price tag on a new Herc. However, another USN Deep Freeze C130 flying in replacement engines crashed on landing. Two of the eleven occupants were killed and the machine was destroyed by fire.

The entombed Herc was eventually flown out to Williams Field and on to Christchurch. Commander Jack Rector, pilot for the eight hour flight to Christchurch said the trip was “as boring as it could be – just as we wanted it. ” Restoration work will be carried out by Air New Zealand’s Christchurch Base.

Fletchers Online Again

Pacific Aerospace is to make aeroplanes again -the first since 1984. The company has successfully tendered to supply the Thailand Ministry of Agricultural Co-operatives with six Fletcher FU24-954s.

Speaking from the Asian Aerospace ’88 Exhibition, Pacific Aerospace’s sales manager, Bob Greer, noted that the deal marks the first sale of agricultural aircraft to an Asian nation in more than five years. The company came in ahead of 24 other tenders including one from Transavia’s Airtruk.

The Thai order is for one dual and five single place aircraft, fitted with VHF, ADF and VOR. Equipment will include Eastern hopper boxes, micron air spray gear and a relative humidity indicator to facilitate a rain-making role for the aircraft. The aircraft will be delivered as partially knocked down kits within the next year, test flown before leaving New Zealand and reassembled by Royal Thai International. Additional staff were being taken on at the company’s Hamilton plant for the manufacture.

Pacific Aerospace Fletchers have previously been exported to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Australia, Britain and the United States.

Wheels Within Wheels

Wheels within wheels? There was much anger when the Wellington Government gave the go-ahead in February for Ansett Australia Ltd to acquire 100% of Ansett New Zealand. Not surprisingly, among the angriest was Air New Zealand which examined the possibility of taking legal action to prevent this (it decided against litigation).

Soon after the February 22 go-ahead, the Minister of State owned enterprises, Richard Prebble, was in consultation with Brierley Investments Ltd, still a 27. 5% stakeholder in Ansett New Zealand (with the Newmans Group’s 22. 5% constituting the New Zealand half share in the airline).

The Prebble-Brierley talks revolved around Brierley taking a major block of shares when the part-privatisation of Air New Zealand came about. Prebble has indicated that the amount of Air New Zealand to be sold off will go beyond the original limit of 25% – industry sources say it is expected to be 30%.

Two others who have shown an interest in acquiring Air New Zealand shares are British Airways and Qantas. The Qantas interest, say industry sources, has aroused unease. Despite speculation by the Australian Minister for Transport and Communications, Senator Gareth Evans, on a possible future merger between the two airlines, the prospect of a Qantas stake in Air New Zealand conjures images of ‘a certain rationalisation’ in services to the greater benefit of the Australian carrier.

The British Airways interest is a different matter and has aroused enthusiasm in Air New Zealand. Head office sees a closer commercial linkage between the two as having complementary advantages – they are based at opposite corners of the globe; British Airways has no link across the South Pacific and Air New Zealand does not fly to Europe via the Middle and Far East.

Whatever the split in the shareholding, the Government is verbally committed to a widespread scatter with a good proportion going to small buyers. The move to part-privatisation is tipped for the second quarter of 1988 – as a matter of political expediency. Earlier this year the Government was involved in a sell-off fiasco which was embarrassing and damaging. At the eleventh hour, it withdrew from an $800 million contract to sell its majority share in the Petroleum Corporation to British Gas. The Government denied that it cancelled the offshore deal because of intense community opposition and cited instead last minute demands by the buyer.

However, the episode has besmirched the Government’s continuing sale of public assets, despite a later sale of the Petrocorp shareholding to local company, Fletcher Challenge, and a nice clean settlement with Air New Zealand would reinstate the programme painlessly. The second largest shareholder in the Petroleum Corporation is Brierley Investments. If it can realise the same price for its shares as has the Government, the $160 million will make a useful sum in a bid for Air New Zealand stakes.

Ansett NZ Seeks Growth

Ansett New Zealand’s bid to open the door for total ownership by the Australian parent apparently owes everything to the need for expansion.

Unconfirmed estimates are that Ansett New Zealand was losing about $2 million a month after six months in service. According to chief executive Ross Keenan, the company had achieved the passenger loads (30% of the total) it had planned on gaining. By mid-February it was achieving record loads.

So in typical airline pincer movement the company was not achieving the yield needed. In a letter to staff, Keenan said that to improve viability, further capital was needed earlier than envisaged.

The New Zealand shareholders (Brierley and Newmans) did not wish to inject more capital into the airline at this stage and “Were limiting the Australian shareholder in what it could do,” Keenan said. The Newmans’ holding, especially, was under pressure because of the shares crash of the Rada Corporation, which holds 49. 9% of Newmans. )

In mid-March, Ansett had yet to acquire the airline equity of either Brierley or Newmans but was already talking about its expansion plans. They include the addition of two new Boeing 737 aircraft later this year and the extension of its main trunk services to the southern city of Dunedin and later to the provincial centres of Hamilton, Palmerston North and Invercargill.

Predictably, the Government’s Parliamentary Opposition has made the most of the Minister Richard Prebble’s July 1986 undertaking to limit the Australian holding to half, at least until Air New Zealand had reciprocal rights to invest in domestic aviation across the Tasman.

A storm blew up over Opposition Leader Jim Bolger’s suggestion that as it was the norm for Australian companies to make donations to political parties, Ansett New Zealand may have made an ‘enticement’ to the Government to allow it to lift its 50% stake in the airline. Prebble dismissed the remark as ‘outrageous’.

Disagreement Over Strike Trainer

There’s a rumoured difference of opinion between the Government and the RNZAF over the replacement aircraft for the fatigue racked Strikemasters. Advised by Treasury, the Government appears to favour the RMF’s choice of the Australian-built Swiss designed Pilatus PC-9 turboprop. For its training and operational conversion role, the RNZAF has given signals it prefers the Italian-built Aeromacchi MB-339 jet.

The Government’s enthusiasm for the PC-9 is largely prompted by trans-Tasman commonality and possibly cost, though the Australian-built aircraft is expected to be more costly than the Swiss-built machine.

The RNZAF is said to be less enthusiastic about the role of the PC-9 as a long-lasting primary trainer. It rather likes the fact that the MB-339 is powered by the same Viper turbojet as the departing Strikemasters – though the Italian aircraft is of roughly contemporary technology to the Strikemasters.

Yet another school of thought within the Service favours the PC-9 as a cost effective way of re-establishing the Territorial Air Force and developing ground attack expertise among the weekend fliers. They would see the formation of three PC-9 squadrons, one training and two operational. The choice of aircraft and the order is expected to be known soon.

Auster Rover Upsets

Continuing frustration for Charlie Janes, the man who re-engined his Auster with a 3. 5 litre Rover VB engine. Charlie was due to appear in the Napier Court on March 9 to answer six charges of test flying the machine without the benefit of certificates of airworthiness. However, the hearing was adjourned for six weeks because the chief prosecution witness, a departmental engineer was visiting the US.

Meanwhile Charlie’s testing has continued – thanks to the irony of special permits granted by Civil Aviation. To take advantage of the higher revs, he’sfitted a new custom-made propeller of 84in diameter (compared with the standard 76in), and of much finer pitch (38in against the usual 54in). She flies like a dream, he says.

Air New Zealand’s Profit Slips

Air New Zealand’s profit for the six months from April to September last year was $21. 9 million – as against $87. 8 million for the same six months in the previous year. However, the 1986 figure was boosted by the sale of our surplus aircraft.

The gap in operating profit was much smaller – $16. 3 for the 1987 half year as against $19. 8 for the previous same six months.

The information, released in February, was the first half-yearly report to be published by the airline. It was required by new legislation governing State-owned enterprises, and was much more comprehensive that those of most publicly listed companies.

The report warned of leaner times ahead and said the 1986-87 second half year profit of $88. 2 million was unlikely to be matched in 1987-88. The airline chairman, Mr Hugh Fletcher, said particularly fierce international competition into and out of New Zealand, with its concomitant reduction in yields was the main reason. The arrival of Ansett New Zealand on the domestic scene had also affected profits.

The airline announced an interim dividend payment to the Government of $9 million.

Geary Set for Chairmanship

Air New Zealand’s retiring managing director, Mr Norman Geary, is being openly spoken of as the airline’s next chairman. Industrialist, Mr Hugh Fletcher, was to step down from the Chairmanship in December, but was asked to stay on for some months apparently to keep the seat warm for Mr Geary.

Geary (49) was due to relinquish to management of the airline in March. About 50 applications for the position – paying more than $200,000, plus fringe benefits – were received after the December notice of retirement.

In early March the short list was narrowed down to four.

Corporation Delays Heavy Charges

The Airways Corporation chairman, Mr Carl Ryan, announced in February that the new charges for use of airports and air traffic control services would be delayed for three months, until July 1.

The move followed fierce criticism from the aviation industry that the new user-pays charges would force small airlines out of business. Several operators claimed the charges would exceed all other costs in running small airlines.

As an example, one said the Corporation’s levy on a four-seater flight from New Plymouth to Auckland would total $245, compared with all other costs of $160.

The protests had been noted, Mr Ryan said, and the Corporation wanted more time for consultation. It was not withdrawing the planned charges.

Briefs

• Auckland Regional Authority has decided to call Auckland Airport’s international terminal the Jean Batten Memorial International Terminal, in honour of the aviatrix who died in 1982 in Majorca. A plaque and small cairn will be placed on the airport where her aircraft touched down after a record breaking flight from England in 1936.

• The McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation has made a gift of an A-4L Skyhawk to the RNZAF Museum at Wigram. The non-flying exhibit was delivered in January in the hold of a Service Hercules.