Simon Nixon
Passenger numbers through Hawke's Bay Airport have increased by 85,995 to 652,426, or by 15 per cent, in the June 2016-17 year compared to a year earlier.
The increase alone is nearly double the numbers visiting the museum in Napier, and nearly as many as visit Splash Planet. The cumulative growth over two years is a staggering 37 per cent.
Some time ago (Hawke's Bay Today 23/04/2016) I predicted that the airport would reach 600,000 passengers in the 2016 calendar year.
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While Air New Zealand accounts for mostpassengers we must not forget the situation prior to Jetstar's arrival when our own Air New Zealand's fares were simply outrageous.
Of course when Jetstar first announced it was expanding domestic routes to include Hawke's Bay, Air New Zealand promised to fight back (HBT 20/06/2015) effectively admitting it had been over-charging on Hawke's Bay services all along.
Back then it was cheaper to fly over 1000km from Auckland to Dunedin or Queenstown where there was competition, rather than just over 300km from Auckland to Napier where there was no competition.
My guess is more people are now travelling by air between Hawke's Bay and Auckland rather than by bus or private motor vehicle.
Hawke's Bay has only three city pair links of any significance and, while there has been a significant increase in capacity and corresponding reduction in airfares to Auckland, flights to both Wellington and Christchurch where Air New Zealand retains its monopoly still appear extraordinarily expensive.
If travelling to places such as Dunedin or Queenstown where it is necessary to change flights, prices are stratospheric.
Whilst it is possible to drive from Hawke's Bay to Wellington the recent closure of the Manawatu George has added about 25 minutes by bus and 15 minutes by car.
Travelling to the South Island by ferry has always been torturous but is now a nightmare following the Kaikoura earthquake.
In recent weeks the road to Taupo and beyond has also been closed by snow for extended periods and, as already mentioned, slips in the Manawatu George have added significantly to inconvenience and travel times on journeys south.
Does any of this matter? Well, I believe it does. Transport is a core contributor to economic well-being and, if Hawke's Bay is to be competitive, we simply must have road, rail and air connections that are compatible to other centres.
We are a relatively remote part of the country and affordable air connections are essential.
A lack of air services does not matter to cities such as Whangarei, Rotorua, Tauranga and Hamilton where Auckland is easily accessible by road but it does matter to us.
Interestingly, the Hawke's Bay economy took off at almost the exact same time as Jetstar started operations nearly two years ago forcing down prices and growing capacity on services to Auckland at least.
Air New Zealand claims to be adding 12,800 additional seats over the coming summer -this is equivalent to just over half a plane a day each way and just to Auckland. There appears no mention of improvement on our other two city pair connections.
Clearly there are significant irregularities in Air New Zealand pricing which must be impacting adversely on our well-being.
Airfares to Wellington are very much higher than to Auckland despite the Capital being about 15 minutes closer, while flights to Christchurch cost many multiples of flights to Auckland yet take less than 50 per cent longer at 90 minutes compared to 65 minutes to Auckland.
This surely shows clear exploitation of itsmonopoly position by Air New Zealand. Unfortunately, local councils, and other organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Hawke's Bay Tourism, seem unwilling to confront this issue.
It is, therefore, high time the Government as the major shareholder and champion of our well-being took action, or instructed regulators to undertake a serious investigation of the airline's pricing.
Do not forget that we, the people of Hawke's Bay, contributed to the $1 billion bailout of Air New Zealand following itsdisastrous foray into Australia a few years ago. We have a right to better treatment.
While I believe Air New Zealand is simply exploiting the situation and doing what all monopolies do, those with the power and responsibility to improve this situation should step up and do so. It is election year and this is an opportunity for those aspiring to represent us to prove they are worthy of our support.
Simon Nixon is the Acting Deputy Mayor of Hastings. Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz