New Zealand News

Air NZ and Canadian Join Frequent Flyer Forces

Air New Zealand and Canadian Airlines have announced joint participation in each other’s frequent flyer programmes, effective from June 1. The agreement will allow Air New Zealand’s Air Points members to accrue and redeem frequent flyer points on most of Canadian Airlines extensive route network, while Canadian Plus members will be able to earn and redeem points on ANZ services between Canada and New Zealand and some South Pacific destinations.

Hovercraft for Auckland

Auckland International Airport’s Rescue Fire Service has leased a 10.6m Ranger hovercraft until the end of the year to assess the type’s suitability for rescue work. The proximity of Manukau Harbour poses unique problems to Auckland airport rescues services as the 37,000 hectares of water at full tide reduces to about 6,000 hectares at low tide, leaving behind expanses of sand banks and soft mud that would make any rescue operations in the harbour very difficult. Auckland has previously operated hovercraft for rescue purposes a decade ago, but these earlier machines had not proven particularly satisfactory.

CML Maintenance for Trainers?

The RNZAF is looking at whether or not to contract out maintenance of the CT-4 Airtrainer and Aermacchi MB-339C trainer fleets to civilian firms. The RNZAF has already called for expressions of interest from civilian firms to maintain the force’s 17 MB-339 jet trainers. The move is seen not only as a way to reduce costs, but to also offset the high retirement rates of trained military personnel. Nearly 800 RNZAF personnel have left the service since November 1993, leaving many key trades under strength despite active recruiting. The RNZAF already contracts some aircraft maintenance work such as that for the Andover and Iroquois, which is performed by Safe Air.

Investigation Launched into Adventure Aviation

The NZ CAA has commissioned a study into adventure aviation tourism to investigate the safety aspects of activities such as heli-bungy jumping, glacier flights and parapenting. The report will be conducted by aviation safety consultants Michael Murray and Australian Gerry O’Day and will investigate whether there should be any additional regulatory intervention in adventure aviation. The report is not aimed at current regulated activities, but whether there should be regulatory intervention into new adventure flying activities. An extreme example of the kind of adventure activities under scrutiny include The Rack, a now suspended ride where passengers were suspended 12m beneath a helicopter by chains flying around the Huka Falls area.

Briefs

Two senior ground stewards at P&O Catering at Auckland airport are behind a bid to start up a new international airline called Kiwi Airlines NZ. The airline proposes operating daily services from Auckland to Sydney, and thrice weekly services from Auckland to both Brisbane and Hawaii, using two Boeing 767-300s. Kiwi Airlines has applied for an air services licence and the proposal is currently under consideration with the NZ Ministry of Transport.

Air Freight New Zealand has taken delivery of its fourth Convair 580 freighter. The extra aircraft will allow Air Freight to fly an additional nightly Auckland/Christchurch/Auckland sector to meet the capacity requirements of the airline’s largest customer, Freightways Group. The machine was purchased from Kelowna Flightcraft in Canada, a company that specialises in Convair conversions, and was delivered in mid-April.

Kiwi West is laying off its eight pilots pending the outcome of a Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigation into the crash of the Kiwi West Queen Air near Hamilton which killed six people. Kiwi West was operating the flight on behalf of Air New Zealand subsidiary Eagle Air, but Eagle Air has stopped chartering Kiwi West services until the investigation’s outcomes are known. The crash is also the subject of a coronial inquiry.

The Queenstown based Lakes District Air Rescue Trust performed over 100 rescue missions for the 12 months to April, the increase in demand in part coming from the recognition of the need to get trauma victims to hospitals as quickly as possible. A recent $NZ100,000 Lottery Grants Board grant allowed the service to buy a specialised winch to improve capabilities.

A fuel pump failure has been blamed for the ditching of a Squirrel into Queen Charlotte Sound, near Picton, earlier this year (refer p96 May 1995 AA).

The Alpine Fighter Collection should take delivery of its third Spitfire, a Mark V, in time for Warbirds Over Wanaka 1996. Also expected at Wanaka 1996 is the Alpine Fighter Collection’s Russian Polikarpov I-16 fighter, currently being worked on in Siberia.

A loose screw has been found to have caused the crash landing of an RNZAF MB-339C at Ohakea in February last year. The screw was in the air intake and worked loose to be ingested by the engine, causing a loss of thrust, resulting in the pilot making a wheels-up emergency landing. The pilot ejected safely while the aircraft is under repair and will be returned to service.

Despite the controversy surrounding the GAF Nomad in Australia, the New Zealand CAA is satisfied with its airworthiness, saying that despite there being more than the average number of safety notices issued for the Nomad, the aircraft should have no problems if maintained and operated to its specifications.

Aircruising Australia is expanding its tour operations to New Zealand late this year when it will operate a week-long Fokker Friendship charter. The air tour will include visits to the Bay of Islands, the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, Napier, Christchurch, a ride on the Tranz Alpine Railway, Milford Sound and Queenstown.

Air Pacific has become the only international airline outside of Qantas to serve Wellington. The Fijian airline has launched direct services to Nadi.