Arguments erupt within Aqua Avia

Press, 14 November 1981, Page 1

Arguments erupt within Aqua Avia

PA Auckland Skybus and the Aqua Avia Society erupted yesterday in a remarkable series of charges and counter charges — following Thursday's resignation of an Aqua Avia director, Mr John Trolove.

While Mr Trolove charged Aqua Avia with failing to do its marketing homework, the Aqua Avia board chairman, Sir Reginald Barnewell, charged Mr Trolove with unfair accusations over the use of the Skybus Viscount. Sir Reginald said Mr Trolove had accused him in a radio interview of taking the Viscount down to Wellington on Thursday on “a junket." Mr Trolove is the manager of the airline division of the Piako Aero Club (Skybus). He said he would continue the job of getting the airline services launched.

However, Aqua Avia funds Skybus from membership fees. Asked about Mr Trolove’s position, Sir Reginald said: “You know what happened to

Gough Whitlam when the Senate withheld supply?” The blow-up comes in the final stages of clearing Skybus for services. Skybus was yesterday awaiting word from the Civil Aviation Division over whether legal documents drawn up with two service companies had been approved. Approval would allow it to launch the airline services immediately. Mr Trolove said yesterday that he had resigned from the board because he believed it had failed to research adequately its market and its fares. He believed the board should have commissioned an economic viability study of its market, and used this as a guide in planning services and setting fares. “I no longer have faith in the board,” Mr Trolove said.

Sir Reginald said it was his “painful decision" earlier this week to issue a directive warning that any director who made “false or untrue” statements about Aqua Avia would be fired. He claimed that Mr Trolove had told people in Hamilton that the Viscount would not land there, when in fact it might.

Referring to his trip to Wellington with Lady Barnewell, Sir Reginald said the aircraft was on lease to Skybus at a cost of $BOOO a day, whether it flew or not. It had been sitting on the ground so long that one of the British Air Ferries pilots was faced with running out of licence time unless he flew the machine.

It was a business trip to Wellington, and two people had to be picked up in Hamilton. So it made good economic sense to fly the Viscount down. The only cost was the fuel used. “Mr Trolove should remember that had Piako got a single piece of paper (from Civil Aviation), it would have been flying down with a full load of paying passengers," Sir Reginald said.

Sir Reginald said he had been accused of staying at the South Pacific Hotel on Aqua Avia funds.

“They forget that I've spent long periods in New Zealand without asking for a penny, and that I have business interests in Australia which deserve my time.” The row is not expected to stop the introduction of Skybus services.