Air N.Z. forced to keep DC8s just for Rongotai

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34132, 20 April 1976, Page 1

Air N.Z. forced to keep DC8s just for Rongotai

(By

LES BLOXHAM.

travel editor of "The Press")

Wellington’s determination to retain the international status of its airport is expected to shackle a large economic millstone to Air New Zealand from the end of next year. If it were not for Rongotai’s runway limitations, the airline would be able to scrap the last of its DCB aircraft within 18 months and use solely the more economic DClOs. Instead, two DCBs will have to be retained and serviced specially to meet the capital city’s demands for a link with the world beyond. The Wellington service was supposed to have been shared by Qantas and Air New Zealand, but strong (and quite valid) objections by Qantas pilots to flying Boeing 707 s in and out of Rongotai left Air New Zealand with the hot political potato. All of Qantas's flights to Wellington have, therefore, been made by Air New Zealand under a special charter agreement which will expire next year. "Servicing Wellington is going to become a very costly operation,” Air New Zealand’s chairman (Mr C. J. Keppel) told me. “We really want to get away from DCSs as soon as possible; the DCIO is a much more economical aircraft to operate,” he said. With its much larger loadcarrying capacity and lower fuel consumption, the DCIO has contributed significantly

to Air New Zealand’s profitability when nearly every other international airline has been running at a loss. Since 1973, the airline’s fleet of “Big Tens,” has grown to six. A seventh will arrive in June and the DCB fleet will then be reduced to four. Mr Keppel confirmed that Air New Zealand might be in a position to break away from DCBs entirely in 18 months, but would be prevented from so doing because of “the Wellington problem.” “We will, of course, plan accordingly, and will continue to service Wellington for as long as is necessary, but it is going to be a very costly business,” he said. Mr Keppel gave a warning, however, that if Wellington were to retain its international status in the 1980 s, there would have to be action soon. Extending the runway would be a long and costly job. Because of the smaller

capacity of the DCBs, Wellington was also missing the better freight services enjoyed by Christchurch and Auckland, he said. And, he added, there was also the distinct possibility that Wellington people would become selective about the type of aircraft they wanted to fly in. They might, for instance, prefer to depart from Christchurch or Auckland in the spaciousness and luxury of the “Big Tens,” or jumbo jets.

Mr Keppel is well aware that Wellington will not lightly give up its long-fought-for status. But he is also aware that the Government must decide whether a country the size of New Zealand can continue to support three international airports. If the answer is affirmative, then work on improving Rongotai will need to be started in the very near future. Otherwise the capital’s “in-

temational” link will, by the early 1980 s, be barely maintained by a couple of vintage aircraft. And probably empty aircraft, at that.