Six hundred dollars to fly to Auckland and back: Napier candidate fires shot at Air NZ over last-minute flights

Six hundred dollars to do a round trip from Napier to Auckland on Air New Zealand is too steep for Labour Party Napier electorate candidate Mark Hutchinson’s liking.

He says he forked that out for
a family member to fly out of Hawke’s Bay Airport last week.

Yes, the flight was booked at reasonably short notice but, no, he does not believe a government-owned national carrier should be charging New Zealand’s regional travellers fares of that magnitude.

“If I was the local MP, I’d be advocating hard to have a look at pricing on regional routes,” Hutchinson said.

Air New Zealand reported a $412 million net profit in the year to June 30, last week, following three years of losses.

“They got a huge bailout and there was a huge need to turn the books around, which is fair enough, but clearly the pandemic hangover’s over and they need to move on and have a rethink,” said Hutchinson.

His vision for Hawke’s Bay – and Napier in particular – is a place where “talented people will bring all sorts of businesses”.

But business people travel and families have emergencies.

“It’s a tax on the regions and it’s an impediment to regional economic development. The other part of it is we want tourists to get on a plane and come here,” said Hutchinson.

“The team at Air New Zealand have done a great job of turning round the books of a government-owned business but, now they’re back in the black, it’s time to step back and have a look and go ‘well, what’s the purpose of owning a national carrier actually?’

“If regional connectivity is a critical part of the reason we own a national carrier, then let’s not strangle the regions with excessive fares.”

Air New Zealand regional affairs manager Jason Dawson said demand, fuel prices, higher supplier costs, increased cost of labour and general inflation had all contributed to a rise in domestic airfares.

His recommendation was to book flights as early as possible and also be aware the airline had a compassionate fare policy for those travelling in family emergencies.

Dawson added that two additional 68-seat ATR aircraft, purchased last week, would boost capacity by 5700 seats a week on the regional network.

Hutchinson’s main rival for the Napier seat, the National Party’s Katie Nimon, has a contrasting view why he had to pay so much.

“I don’t often fly out of the region but, as the cost of living skyrockets under Labour, unaffordable airfares hit harder,” Nimon said.

“Rather than interfering with Air New Zealand’s airfares, we should be encouraging more competition in the market.

“It’s a shame that Jetstar pulled out of the region in 2019, but it’s great that Sunair has set up flights to Gisborne and Wairoa.

“As Napier’s local MP, I will advocate for businesses to invest in the region, including airlines, because competition is healthy.”

Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.