Christmas travel not a problem

Press, 20 December 1986, Page 11

Christmas travel not a problem

Christmas seems to be progressing at an unhurried rate for most services except taxis.

Air and coach lines reported steady but not inflexible bookings for the last-minute traveller, with extra flights and seats still available for most destinations.

An Air New Zealand spokesman said the travel rush had been less pressing this year because Christmas Day had fallen on a Thursday, spreading the normal peak over five days.

Auckland is a popular choice, with Air New Zealand reporting that flights to Auckland on Christmas Eve are "nearly full.” The favoured ferry sailings at noon and 2.20 p.m. are full for cars travelling in both directions between now and January 6. However, other sailings on those dates are not full, and the Railways Corporation reports more cancellations than usual.

For those thinking at the last moment of an overseas holiday, Air New Zealand reports the flights to Sydney from today until Boxing Day are full. Qantas reports seats available to Sydney, but says Brisbane has been a popular destination this year, with few seats left.

Newmans’ South Island traffic manager, Mr John Clark, said coach book-

ings were steady but seats were still available to all destinations. Extra buses had been put on the Christchurch - to - Picton and Lewis Pass-to-Nelson routes.

Taxis, however, are experiencing a larger demand than previously for their services.

The manager of Blue Star Taxis, Mr Kevin Murphy, said that people who did not pre-book their taxis could have at least a 15-minute wait before one was available. People seemed to be realising this, and pre-booking was up on previous years.

Trade was busiest between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Maxi taxis were in high demand, particularly from groups, but preference had to be given to the disabled, said Mr Murphy. Mail levels were up a little on last year but the posting had been spread out over a longer period, said the Christchurch branch manager of postal services, Mr Bruce Whyte. The annual problem of receiving badly-packaged or addressed mail had not diminished, however. Sometimes letters were simply addressed to “Aunty Julie” or had the street but not the town. “It’s a shame to see that quite a few kids won’t be getting their Christmas presents,” said Mr Whyte.