Travel talks: Norris Carter

Norris Carter.

People in the industry discuss their job and issues they face.

Norris Carter is Auckland Airport's general manager of aeronautical and commercial and joined the company in November 2103. His job is to attract airlines and keep the existing ones happy by building relationships with the tourism trade.

Born in Melbourne, he trained as an electrical engineer at Sydney University, worked for IBM selling mainframes to banks, did an MBA then worked for Boston Consulting as a management consultant for about four years in the airline, telco and energy industries.

He worked for Qantas for 10 years in the frequent flyer programme, as it became a separate business unit, and worked in chief executive's Alan Joyce's office as Qantas pondered a joint venture with Malaysian Airlines.

When Qantas was split into domestic and international airlines he worked for the international division in network and revenue planning.

He says Qantas was in "constant shock syndrome but was a fantastic place to work" and provided plenty of insight into the needs of the airline customers he deals with in his present job.

What are the biggest challenges?

Airport infrastructure has to be matched to capacity growth. "They can be expensive mistakes if you go too early, or it can be pretty uncomfortable for everybody if you go too late." During the summer peak the airport has student guides to help travellers through the airport. Sustainable airline growth is also the key. "My focus is very much in trying to grow the pie. If one airline comes in right on top of the other one they're fighting over the same customers and that's not great for anybody. Fare wars could result in carriers leaving."

How does the fall in the kiwi dollar affect your business?

As the New Zealand dollar gets lower it should make us more attractive. No markets appear to be more currency sensitive than others. Most international traffic (by far the most lucrative for the airport) is from fast-growing, large populations. About 50 per cent of international traffic is outbound and the falling currency makes it more expensive for Kiwi travellers heading to popular destinations such as the United States and Europe. Carter says they will start switching from destinations such as Hawaii to those such as the Cook Islands.

What's the worst part of the job?

When an airline reduces capacity. "Fortunately we haven't seen too much of this recently," he says. What's the best part of the job?

Welcoming new routes such as Air New Zealand's new flights to the United States and Argentina this year, China Eastern's new Shanghai service and Philippine Airlines' flights to Manila. Auckland Airport shares analysis on traffic flows, produces models on what the market looks like, and once airlines commit to flying the airport will work with them and Tourism NZ to help them sell NZ as a destination, and from an operational point of view help with airport agencies.

What initiatives do you have under way this year?

A campaign in China is spreading from Guangzhou to Shanghai. The "Four Seasons Five Senses" campaign in China to try to attract premium tourists from China started in Guangzhou and is spreading across China. The airport is getting $1.11 million from the Tourism Growth Partnership Fund and will invest up to $1.75 million into the project over three years.

Is the industry in good shape?

Traffic through Auckland Airport continues to grow. High growth markets, such as China, are nowhere near "capped out" and there is an opportunity to add more capacity. Carter says Auckland Airport, geographically unusual because it is at the "end of the line" at the moment, has longer-term potential to act as a stopover for traffic from Southeast Asia and southwest South America.

How is your business affected by new technology/disrupters?

Airports are physical businesses involving the interchange of people from aircraft to various forums of ground transport but the airport has linked with travel app Tripit to give passengers more help as they pass through.