New Zealand News

Mr Smith who was with the Ansett group for 11 years, is confident Ansett NZ will perform better this year. He believes the airline will be involved in New Zealand for a long time. There was no suggestion, he said, that Ansett New Zealand’s owners wanted to pull out of this country.

Meanwhile, the Wellington Evening Post says Air New Zealand is considering an alliance with Ansett Australia which could have serious repercussions for Ansett New Zealand. The newspaper says Air NZ sources confirmed the airline was discussing several options for flying domestically in Australia, as allowed under the new single aviation market.

“One of the options would be to look at having some sort of alignment with an established airline in Australia and Ansett is an obvious example”, one source is quoted as saying.

Ansett passengers in Australia would be fed directly on to Air New Zealand transtasman and transpacific flights. Ken Cowley, Ansett Transport Industries’ executive chairman recently said there had been confidential discussions with a wide range of companies, including Air NZ.

Former Aviation Leader Dies

Doug Patterson, who led the National Airways Corporation for 18 years until its 1977 merger with Air New Zealand, had died. He was 78 and died from cancer after a long illness.

Mr Patterson, who died at his Tauranga (North Island) home, trained as a structural engineer and helped to rebuild Napier after the 1931 earthquake. Fifty years ago he became the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s chief navigational ground instructor and was awarded the military MBE for his services to aviation. In 1974 he was awarded the CBE.

In 1947 Doug Patterson joined the fledgling NAC and in 1961 became NAC’s general manager. He held this position until the government forced its merger with the international airline.

A book entitled The Patterson File-His Memoirs is due out early next year. The book, co-written with a former Air New Zealand public relations manager, Jim Wallace, is a story of the Corporation and Mr Patterson’s involvement in half a century of domestic aviation.

Air Traffic Controllers Meet in NZ

Christchurch recently hosted the 32nd International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Association annual conference, attended by more than 400 controllers from 42 nations.

It was the first time the 77 nation group has met in New Zealand. The annual conference was held in Melbourne in the mid 1970s, the first for Australia. Opening the conference, the Minister of Transport, Rob Storey, told how the Airways Corporation, responsible for all air traffic control services in this country, had installed a new ATC system throughout New Zealand.

The new airways system, he told conference delegates, was ready to link in with future satellite based global air navigation systems. The knowledge and expertise acquired as a result of the new system was being shared abroad.

“Already the Airways Corporation is working with ten Pacific Island countries on technical maintenance work, technical training and the implementation of navigation aids. ” The federation’s president, Charles Stuart, said the conference was held in the fastest growing aviation region of the world. “By the year 2000, Asia Pacific will account for 30% of all aviation activity. Asia Pacific has 13 of the top 25 world air markets and the Pacific Rim countries account for 40% of new Boeing 747-400 orders and 80% of Boeing 777 orders. ” He noted that this region had at least seven airports under construction or planned. No new airports were planned for North America or Europe, said Mr Stuart.

Runway Safety to Be Reviewed

The safety of Wellington airport’s runway is to be examined again. Transport minister Rob Storey has asked the Civil Aviation Authority to take another look at whether regulatory standards relating to the airport are adequate, given the airport characteristics and international standards.

“Recent publicity on the runway issue yet again highlights what seems to have been a safety conundrum for close to 10 years,” said the minister. “The Wellington International Airport Company is understandably reluctant to embark on costly, urgent work on the runway end’s safety area if the safety risks seem acceptable both to their clients and the regulatory authority. ”

Transtasman Flight Plan

A comprehensive report aimed at gaining approval for trans-Tasman flights into Queenstown- a major holiday resort 500km south west of Christchurch-has been prepared by the Queenstown Airport Corporation.

The Corporation’s report is based on the findings of a study carried out in consultation with airport users, the Corporation’s board of directors, the Ministry of Transport, council officers and the community.

To take big jets on the transtasman routes, the main runway would have to be extended some 500m to about 2000m, the mayor of Queenstown, David Bradford told AA recently.

Development of the Queenstown airport has been the subject of controversy in recent years. Queenstown is a major tourist attraction with skiers at this time of year and with coachloads of summer tourists enjoying the sights on their way round the South Island. Hushkitted 737s owned by Air New Zealand operate to Queenstown, also served by Ansett NZ’s BAe 146s.

Philip Phillips, the Corporation chairman, says the aim was to prepare the way for development of a regional airport with transtasman capabilities.

Muslims to Mecca – On Air NZ

Air New Zealand has chartered a 747-200 to the Indonesian airline Garuda until July 2. The jet will be used to transport Muslims to Mecca and then bring the pilgrims home again.

The annual Haj pilgrimage involves the world’s largest movement of people to a single event. Last year the journey was made by 127,000 Indonesians alone. The Air New Zealand 747 will operate between Jakarta and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Scrap Jet for Show in NZ A

Canberra jet bomber saved from the scrap heap is to go on show at the Wigram air force museum in Christchurch.

The ex Royal Air Force B8 model-externally identical to the B12s flown by the RNZAF – was built in 1955. It served with four RAF squadrons and last flew 21 years ago. It was later sold to a scrap dealer who sold it to the RNZAF museum for just over $NZ11,500.

The Wigram air force museum already has one Canberra on show, a gift from the Royal Australian Air Force. However it has a side-by-side two seater cockpit while the new arrival, like those flown by the RNZAF, has a single cockpit offset to one side and a fully enclosed navigator’s position lower in the nose.

Pistol Packing Police at Airports

Police officers at New Zealand’s three international airports -Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch-are the first in the country to carry firearms openly.

Auckland airport’s 17 police had carried pistols concealed in satchels attached to their waists for sometime, said the officer-in-charge at the Auckland airport police station. The satchels have been replaced by holsters to make the pistols visible.

There have been many incidents at the airport in which the police had drawn guns but they had never fired. The 9mm Browning pistols will be replaced by9mm Glocks after training is completed.

Flight Plan Popular

About 30,000 New Zealanders have joined Air New Zealand’s frequent flyer programme since it took off nearly 18 months ago. One condition of the programme is that members make at least one overseas trip each year.

The airline’s air points manager, Paul Smitton, says response to the programme has exceeded expectations. “We doubled our membership target in the first year”, he said. Members accumulate air points for every airline ticket they buy. The points can be cashed in for free travel to any of the airline’s 28 destinations.

New Look for Mca Cabin Crew

Australians heading for Mt Cook and other major tourist attractions in New Zealand will see new Mount Cook Airline uniforms being worn by cabin crews.

A strong feature of the airline’s logo, the Mount Cook lily, is made in the uniform. The giant alpine buttercup is found in some of the areas the airline flies to.

Christchurch designer Barbara Lee is also producing a new uniform cardigan and tie design for the male cabin attendants. The Mount Cook Line is also intensifying its marketing operations in the British Isles-it recently opened a London Office. Peter Clark, the Mount Cook Group’s general manager, says the UK was an important source for the company’s air, coach, tour and sightseeing operations. Some 100,000 people from the UK visited New Zealand last year. Air New Zealand now has four weekly Gatwick/Auckland 747 services.

A lot of visitors from Britain will also appreciate major extensions to the airport terminal at Mount Cook. The extensions have provided a 90% increase in floor area.

Airways Hopes to Hold Fees

The Airways Corporation, which made an after tax profit of $NZA. Im in the six months to December 31, should be able to avoid raising charges if demand for air traffic services continues at its present level.

Rex Loach, the Corporation chairman, says charges for air traffic services for airlines operating throughout New Zealand and within 28 million sq km of the South Pacific.

The Corporation’s operating revenue for the December half year was $NZ45. 4m. In the nine months to December 1991 the profit after tax was $NZ3. 84m on revenue of $NZ62. 8m.

In the half year annual report, under operational review, Mr Loach and the Corporation’s executive, Andrew Makin say: “The Navigation Systems Modernisation Project continues to be ahead of schedule and substantially under the budgetted cost. We are participating with several other countries and international airlines in Automatic Dependence Surveillance (ADS) tests in the Pacific. “This involves the use of satellite navigation and communication to provide flexible tracks whereby aircraft fly the most efficient route and altitude for the prevailing weather conditions. This technology has the potential to provide significant savings to airlines through reductions in time taken and fuel used. ”

Freight Airline Planned

A new Christchurch airline aims to be flying freight across the Tasman by September.

Operating a Boeing 727-100 with an 18 tonne capacity, the company will offer an overnight return service to Australia four nights weekly, according to the Canterbury Development Corporation. A turnover of $NZ7-8m a year is expected. The promoter is not willing to be named at this stage.

Nz’s Aviation Folly

New Zealand had a sorry record of preserving its aviation heritage, Air Commodore Graeme Goldsmith said at the opening of the New Zealand Fighter Pilots’ museum at Wanaka, lower South Island.

He spoke of the folly of scrapping hundreds of serviceable aircraft after the Second World War and a lack of vision in the aviation industry which persisted for decades after.

“Until very recently, the RNZAF totally neglected the past and we now have to pay a heavy price for this”, he told some 275 guests, including a number of WW2 New Zealand fighter pilots from the RNZAF and RAF.

The museum was officially opened by retired Gp Capt Colin Gray, credited with destroying 27 enemy aircraft-the highest number by a New Zealander in that war. Now 79, Colin Gray is also credited with probably destroying or damaging another 22 aircraft. In seven weeks in 1940 he claimed 14 aircraft de- stroyed with as many probables.

The museum was built by noted aviator Tim Wallis, known through Australasia for his Alpine Fighter Collection at Wanaka. A beaming Mr Wallis held aloft a fuel gauge during his address – a reference to the time he forgot to switch tanks in his Spitfire. He and his wife Prue also displayed a Spitfire propeller with a cannon hole in the timber, the result of a German attack. The pilot who removed the damaged prop from his aircraft half a century ago, Peter Spurdle, was at the opening. Tim Wallis said the museum was a memorial to the dedication of air and ground crews, not a glorification of war. The museum houses a Kittyhawk, Corsair and Mustang and will soon have a Spitfire, damaged on the way to last November’s Auckland Air Expo.

Mr Wallis told AA at the opening that a new Yak 3 Russian fighter and a restored Messerschmitt 109 would later be added to the museum.