More flights ‘not justified’

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 4

More flights ‘not justified’

A passenger air service linking Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin, and Invercargill would lose almost $500,000 annually, ’according to the Minister of Civil Aviation. . (Mr McLachlan). In the present economic environment Air New Zea-> land could not afford to introduce such a service, even on a trial basis, he said in a letter to the South Island Local Bodies’ Association.

He was replying to an approach about further flights linking Timaru with other South Island centres.

The feasibility of a weekday service between Christchurch and Invercargill, with stopovers in the two other centres, had been studied by the airline, he said. “The pattern of Air New Zealand’s thinking in recent times has been towards improving services . over the longer haul sectors and minimising the commitment to shorthaul ' sectors which inevitably ! incur substantial operating losses,” he said. Surveys had shown that

on an average weekday, six or seven Timaru people began flights from Christchurch, rather than using the existing service between their home town and Wellington. A generous forecast put the number of passengers likely to use an air link between Timaru and Christchurch at only 15 each way per weekday.

traffic for a link between Dunedin and Invercargill was estimated to be about 2000 passengers each way annually. On those forecasts revenue on the three-stop service had been assessed at $321,000 a year while the direct annual running .cost would be $BOB,OOO. The two direct flights between Timaru and Wellington each weekday at present gave -South Canterbury' a good air service. This included a morning connection with flights, to North Island centres, Blenheim, and Nelson. • Traffic on the two'daily flights had grown steadily in the . last five years but had' now started to level off. ; -