New Zealand News

Thirdly the Minister announced plans to spend approximately $NZ10m on defensive systems for three of the RNZAF’s five C-130H Hercules. In recent years NZ Hercules have been used extensively in support of United Nations missions, and the defensive systems, including jammers, chaff and flares should improve their survivability in hostile environments significantly. The minister’s announcement also included the $NZ14.2m purchase of a sealift ship to transport army heavy equipment and weapons. Funding for the programmes was made possible following the completion of payment for the MB-339 jet trainers and new government accounting methods which allow the defence force to reinvest accumulated depreciation reserves.

Ansett Nz’s Hidden Profits

Ansett Australia Holding’s recent annual report revealed that the company’s previously consistently unprofitable New Zealand arm has been making money for the past three years. The annual report reveals that Ansett New Zealand’s bottom line profit results have been clouded by a sizeable $NZ60m to $NZ70m depreciation bill and interest costs. Without these two overheads Ansett New Zealand has been cash positive since 1991/92. The report lists the airline’s value at about $NZ52m. Ansett New Zealand recorded a net loss of only $NZ9.7m for 1993/94 compared with $NZ47.6m the previous year.

In other Ansett New Zealand news the airline has added an extra Saturday and Sunday frequency between Rotorua and Wellington and was bringing forward a weekday flight between Palmerston North and Auckland increasing non-stop flights between Palmerston North and Wellington. The airline is also progressively introducing a new livery based closely on Ansett Australia’s. The only major difference from Ansett Australia’s new scheme is NZ’s four star Southern Cross on the tail. The first aircraft to appear in the new livery was an ex Ansett Australia BAe 146-300 which was recently swapped with a 146-200.

Caa And Industry Work Together To Enhance Helicopter Safety

The NZ CAA and industry have formulated a strategy to improve the country’s very high helicopter accident rate. The CAA and industry have developed a five-point plan that will eventually be applied to the entire NZ aviation industry. Points of the plan include a voluntary advanced pilot training programme based on the US’s Heliprops training system, which has made a notable improvement in accident rates in the USA. Other components of the plan include pilot and operator education and information programmes. The CAA will also collate a statistical database so progress can be monitored and trouble spots targeted.

Also as part of moves to increase helicopter safety the CAA has been conducting a campaign to observe on how well helicopter operators have complied with regulations. The three-month long campaign was aimed particularly at low flying, while CAA officers have inspected maintenance records and flying logs.

Call For An International Airport For Queenstown

Paul Fleming, co-owner of Harvey World Travel, has called for an international airport to be built within 75 minutes drive of the major tourist centre of Queenstown. Harvey World Travel sells $NZ50m to $NZ60m worth of New Zealand travel annually, and Mr Fleming believes his company alone could provide enough travel for two daily international flights (presumably from Australia) to Queenstown. He said that the two flights could also be provided by new business, rather than from taking bookings from other services. Mr Fleming observed that New Zealand would be best served by two international airports at either end of the country.

Apart from Christchurch, the only South Island city to host an international arrival from Australia has been Dunedin, when a Qantas 737-300 charter from Sydney flew in spectators for the Bledisloe Cup Rugby Union match. However Invercargill Airport is also working at attracting trans-Tasman charters.

No Civilian Use Of Whenuapai

The Royal New Zealand Air Force has ruled out the possibility of civilian use of its Whenuapai air base, West Auckland. An NZ Defence Force management plan for the base had canvassed the prospect of limited civilian use of the base, including for flying training, freight and charter work. The Air Force however says that it has not considered and has no plans to allow and develop Whenuapai for commercial use. Further, such a proposal would need the approval of the Defence minister. Meanwhile the RNZAF has placed submissions with four local councils that border or are near Whenuapai to ensure that further development of the base is not hampered by new activities or developments on surrounding land that might be affected by aircraft operations.

Concorde’s Exhaust Fumes Tested

The visit of a Concorde to Christchurch recently gave NASA a unique opportunity to test possible ozone destruction by supersonic aircraft, reports Michael Short. A Lockheed ER-2, a development of the famous U-2 spyplane of the 1960s, was in Christchurch gathering samples south of New Zealand and other areas and it intercepted the Concorde off the coast near Wellington. The supersonic airliner was flying from Fiji to Christchurch on an around the world charter. The ER-2 dived through the Concorde’s exhaust fumes about a minute after the delta-winged aircraft had passed.

Dr Charles Paul of the US National Science Foundation said they had not planned on undertaking this research for several years but the uniqueness of the situation presented an opportunity that could not be missed. “Being able to dive through the exhaust fumes of the Concorde like this is not normally possible because of congestion in the airspace.” The area of the Wellington coast was completely free so the ER-2 was able to get extremely close to the Concorde – about five miles (4nm/8km).

Healthy Airline Industry And Improving Economy Helps Caa Funding Problems

An increasingly profitable New Zealand airline industry and continuing economic growth is alleviating long standing funding problems for the NZ Civil Aviation Authority. At the time of writing the CAA was close to finalising an agreement with industry that would see it meet its $NZ12.5m budget next financial year. The CAA is now relying on 3.6 million passengers flying in New Zealand this financial year and 3.8m next. While these figures are above previous projections, they now look achievable due to increased economic growth. The NZ CAA has a $2 per passenger levy on domestic flights.

Briefs

• Air New Zealand has ruled out restarting scenic flights to Antarctica and the South Pole, after the suggestion was raised following Qantas’ highly successful resumption of limited scenic charter flights to the southern continent. Qantas and Air New Zealand ceased charter flights to Antarctica following the Air New Zealand DC-10 crash into Mount Erebus in 1979, in which 257 people died.

• A Solomon Airlines full-page colour ad in Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine featuring its Pacific route network wrongly names Christchurch as Auckland and indicates that the southern city is served by direct air links to Honiara and Port Vila. The map also shows the South Island disproportionately larger than the North Island, while the North Island is broken in two just north of Hamilton.

• Air New Zealand has added SAS to its Air Points frequent flyer scheme. Virgin Atlantic is already a participant in the scheme.

• Tekapo-based Air Safari and Services New Zealand Ltd has added an N24 Nomad to its eight-strong aircraft fleet. Previously the Nomad had spent almost all of its life with a Dutch operator.

• Aircraft maintenance will be the focus of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s 1995 symposium to be held at the Wigram Air Force Museum, Christchurch, on March 16/17.

• Mount Cook Airlines has increased its frequencies to the Chatham Islands from two per week to five. The three new services depart from Wellington on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and are operated by Metros, while the current Tuesday and Saturday services are operated by HS.748s.

• 1994 was a record year for Christchurch’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter, with 113 missions flown, compared with about 80 in the previous two years. The rise has been attributed to a greater number of car accidents and a growing awareness of the service’s existence.

• Korean Airlines has now increased its weekly services to Christchurch to two. Korean began flying to Christchurch just over a year ago with a weekly service.

Rnzaf Airtrainer Repaint Trials

Four RNZAF Airtrainers are being painted in temporary paint schemes as part of trials to improve visibility and maintenance costs. The first aircraft to be repainted was NZ1938, which was rolled out in this bright yellow scheme in late November last year. The other Airtrainers to be painted will be white, red and black respectively. The RNZAF’s fleet of 15 CT-4s are now due to be repainted so the opportunity was seized to trial new single colour schemes that would make the aircraft easier to see in the air, reduce the cost of repainting as a single colour will be less expensive than the current red and grey scheme and will allow the use of new modern longer lasting paints. When the trial is completed the best overall scheme will be progressively applied to the Airtrainer fleet as they come up for repainting. (RNZAF)