Chatham flights to resume

Press, 1 June 1977, Page 6

Chatham flights to resume

Air services will resume i between Christchurch and! the Chatham Islands, it was announced yesterday. The Government’s decision was announced at an Air Services Licensing Authority hearing in Christchurch. According to the chief, executive officer for the De--partment of Internal Affairs: (Mr T. O'Brien), the Cabinet: had agreed on Monday to’ reintroduce the service. “The matter has been' under consideration by the. Government for some: months, as a result of repre-l sentations from the Chat-1 .hams County Council, and’ : other interested parties,” he j 'said. The service from Christ-| church by Safe Air, Ltd,, I under contract to the Gov-1 ernment, was cancelled two years ago, although flights Ito Wellington were con-i ■tinued. The existing Wellington' ’service runs at a loss, as did j | the former Christchurch ser-1 vice. Subsidies on Chatham) Islands flights amounted to' more than $102,000 last' year. When the announcement was made, the licensing: authority was hearing an ap-

| plication from Titan Air Ser- . I vices, Ltd, to run a passen-ger-freight service from Christchurch to the Chathams. The Auckland company hopes to run a twice-weekly service to the Chathams (from Christchurch, using a •nine-seater Cessna Titan 404 I aircraft. It also intends to (develop two new airfields, • lone of which would virtually I replace the existing airstrip I at Hapupu. :! Objectors to Titan’s application are Safe Air, Ltd (Mr | J. Burrows), Capital Air Services (Mr E. F. Page), Akaroa Air (Mr E. M. J. I Castles), Mount Cook Airlines and Amphibious Air 'Services (Mr P. H. B. Hall), I National Airways Corporation (Mr M. J. Neville), the Ministry of Transport (Mr C. J. Fletcher), Air Charters i of, Christchurch (Mr K. j Wakeman), Air North, Ltd, formerly- Air South Pacific, (Ltd (Mr J. E. Rutherford), land Barker Bros. I The newly resumed Safe Air service will be identical: I with that cancelled two: (years ago. Bristol Freighter: aircraft will fly a triangular route between Wellington, ■the Chathams, and Christ-

■ church on one Wednesday, |s I returning the opposite way It -the next Wednesday. There! will be a second flight direct' 1 from Wellington and return on Friday of each week. |r The subsidised adult fare! each way from Wellington is i $66; that from Christchurch was $77. t The proposed Titan ser- i vice would leave Christ- 1 church each Monday and < Friday on the two and a I half hour flight — an hour: faster than the Safe Air ser-It vice. It would leave the if IChathams at 1.30 p.m. on.; | the return flight. T I The regular adult one-way 11 Ifare would be $9O: the char-'i jter rate being $205 per hourp for unscheduled flights. | The existing airfield on 12 (the Chathams is at Hapupuj —55 km by poor roads from!a the main settlement, Wait-1 c angi. Titan wishes tola develop another fieid at! Moreroa, Bkm north of Is 1 Waitangi, and use the Ha- t ■pupu strip only when neces-p sary. I < : /Another strip would belt : built on Pitt Island, which r lean be reached only by sea] at present. According to thee company’s submissions,! t Pitt’s population of 60 has!a

sometimes been isolated by heavy seas for up to a week. In addition to the Chatham Islands application, Titan also seeks a licence to run charter flights out of Christchurch to any airstrip in New Zealand. The company’s managing director (Mr W. F. I. Hunt), and another director (Mr R. W. Palmer), made submissions yesterday, relating to both applications. Titan had originally intended to apply for a licence for a link between the Karipri airstrip near Mount Ruapehu in- the North Island, and Methven airstrip near Mount Hutt. This w’ould have provided a service between two of New Zealand’s major skifields. It had not been publicly advertised as legally required however, and the authority declined to hear it. Counsel for one objector suggested that Titan had virtually run a commercial service 'without a licence for its single existing aircraft, but this was denied by both witnesses. Counsel for other object-] ors questioned Messrs Hunt) and Palmer about companies and organisations that had

said they would support the charter flights offered by Titan. It was suggested that

charter work from Christchurch was limited. The hearing was adjourned to this morning, and is expected to take several days. Submissions on behalf of the applicants are not yet complete, and those for objectors have yet to be heard. Earlier in the day, the authority reserved decision on an application from Air Safaris and Services (N.Z.). Ltd, of Lake Tekapo. It had sought an amendment to its licence to include landing rights at a private gliding club strip at Omarama. The company runs charter and sightseeing flights in the Mount Cook region. It wants to use the airstrip when poor weather closes its Tekapo strip, and to pick up other passengers with its three five-seater aircraft. Objectors to the application were the North Otago Aero Club, which works from a nearby airstrip, and I the owner of the land the strip is on. Both cited ! county council proposals to I develop it into a commercial I field.