Simon Nixon: Airport's name must benefit our region

Simon Nixon

The Airport directors have decided to accept the name Ahuriri Airport Hawke's Bay despite significant public opposition back in May when the idea was first mooted and rejection of the idea by the Hastings District Council.

Certainly Napier City councillors did approve the proposal, with just one dissenting vote but, interestingly, there were no subsequent formal discussions between the airport board and HDC and NCC councillors.

It is the board's failure to appreciate the commercial implications that should be of greatest concern. Apparently only three of the four directors were actually present when the decision was made, though it has not been revealed who was absent.

The issue of the airport name and ownership should not be confused. The claimant group Mana Ahuriri has first right of refusal on the crown's 50 per cent share of the airport business, so may become the major shareholder sometime in the future. However, so far there appears to be no formal agreement with government to sell, or the claimant to purchase. Unfortunately, Mana Ahuriri has not disclosed its expectations and may simply be seeking a source of income which might impede airport services. Or it may be far less of an impediment to progress than the Crown has been.

Most New Zealand airport names are aligned with their city locations. In Australia names such as Mascot and Eagle farm have been displaced by Sydney and Brisbane, though in the world's largest cities with multiple airports name alignment is often impractical. Branding is crucial in the commercial world. Think Coca Cola, McDonalds, The Warehouse and many other well known names. Branding is recognition and reputation. It is essential Hawke's Bay also has a strong and consistent brand. We promote Hawke's Bay as a visitor destination, we have a Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce and a Hawke's Bay Regional Council, and had our councils amalgamated we would have had a Hawke's Bay Council. Other Maori organisations elsewhere have acknowledged the importance of effective branding.

Ngai Tahu has retained the name Shotover Jet in Queenstown, and are a major shareholder in Whale Watch Kaikoura. Tainui does not add their tribal name to the country's largest shopping mall in Hamilton, "The Base".

Airports need common sense, logical names because they are the gateways to destinations, not destinations in their own right. As the names Hawke's Bay, Napier and Hastings are the only well-recognised names outside of Hawke's Bay these are the names we should stick to. Sensibly, the airport name was changed from Beacons aerodrome to Hawke's Bay Airport 50 years ago. Notice Jet Star only ever mentioned Napier as its new destination and even Air New Zealand use the destination Napier/Hastings.

This proposed name change is simply a continuation of the board's concentrated focus on the airport business with less apparent concern about its wider and much more important infrastructural role. In 2004 I challenged the then board's acceptance of the infamous PWC report on direct transtasman services, which I considered inaccurate and highly misleading. The board failed to take any corrective action.

Only a month ago I challenged chairman Tony Porter's claim that airport profitability was limited by the Commerce Commission to a 6.9 per cent weighted average cost of capital. As I was aware of this claim I had previously approached the Commission and had obtained confirmation that there was no such limit on the profitability of Hawke's Bay Airport. Perhaps significantly, Mr Porter is the last remaining director from 2004.

Of course the name issue might not have been a problem had Napier's former mayor, Barbara Arnott and, current Hastings Mayor, Lawrence Yule, not effectively boosted airport profits and therefore its attractiveness to Mana Ahuriri by agreeing to lease the council owned airport land to the airport business for just $1 a year, rather than insisting on a realistic rate of return for the council owners.

This action will effectively transfer millions of ratepayers dollars to the crown, and eventually to Mana Ahuriri if ownership is transferred.

Let's not cause confusion because of cultural expedience. Other than Hawke's Bay Airport the only other names that should be considered are Napier Airport or Napier/Hastings Airport, which at least would provide consistency with the three-letter IATA code NPE used worldwide to identify our airport.

-Simon Nixon is a Hastings District councillor.