No 'drastic’ air route changes

Press, 21 December 1981, Page 6

No 'drastic’ air route changes

PA Wellington Air New Zealand’s cnief executive, Mr John Wisdom, has ruled out any wholesale changes in the airline’s provincial services.

He said that anyone who thought the airline was going to cut its provincial services drastically had a “hole in the head.”

Mr Wisdom, who will be succeeded by Mr Norman Geary on February 2, had been asked to expand on comments he made in a staff magazine in which he said that although Air New Zealand would survive, it might have to take on another form.

“Domestically we are awaiting the Government’s determination of the Domestic Civil Aviation Policy Review and until such time as that, is made public, and until we understand a little more about it, it is difficult to say j what will come along. “AS far as I can judge, looking at our domestic product, it would seem to me that we will not see any dramatic change in the domestic schedule pattern,” Mr Wisdom said.

“There may well be some adjustments, and we have already made some, but as far as dramatic cessation of operations is concerned, the people who are canvassing that have a hole in the head.”

Mr Wisdom said in his Christmas message to staff that the ’airline would survive and the Government would back it, “but we will probably not see ourselves in our present shape.”

Asked what that meant, Mr Wisdom said that costs had to be controlled, which entailed modifications to schedules. Air New Zealand had reduced flights to Hong Kong and the Pacific Islands, and had made changes to its Tasman functions.

“We can also change our shape by expansion. We have got the rights to London and looking down the line a little, towards the end of next year if the economic studies show a viability, obviously we will do that run,” Mr Wisdom said.

“We will also have expansion by replacing our DClOs with 7475,” he said.