Aviation journalist Grant Bradley is with The Front Page to take a look at the current situation, and crises past – and whether air travel will ever be the same.
With the news that Air NZ is cutting 1100 routes because of a sharp rise in fuel prices, questions are emerging about how worried NZers should be.
Chief executive officer Nikhil Ravishankar has cited “unprecedented” jet fuel prices as the cause, which he said could not be passed on tocustomers, who were already facing cost-of-living challenges.
The normal price for jet fuel has recently been about US$85 ($144) a barrel, but it is now at about US$170 a barrel because of the war in Iran.
As a result, the Government has rounded up a bunch of senior ministers to oversee the country’s fuel security.
Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones has said New Zealanders “should be reassured that we are monitoring this very, very closely”.
“When we receive information, we will share that information. If circumstances change, we will swiftly notify the public. There is no need for panic or over-reaction,” he said.
Aviation journalist Grant Bradley has been reporting on the sector for decades.
He told The Front Page he agreed there is no need to panic.
“This is an event that comes around in aviation, say, on average, every seven years.
“These things seem to be coming around a bit more frequently these days, but these are the kind of things that airlines plan for and planes are going to keep flying.
“As we learned after the pandemic, there’s a very strong desire to get places – it’s an unstoppable need to connect. I always figure the airline industry is populated by optimists; they always look ahead, and they find a way,” he said.
Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones is responsible for fuel security and says the Government is monitoring the situation "very closely". Photograph / Mark Mitchell
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to the largest-ever oil stock release, releasing 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves.
Member countries, of which New Zealand is one, hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency oil stocks.
Along with the 31 other members, Jones has said we were obliged to contribute.
“New Zealand’s contribution is equivalent to about six days’ fuel supply here.
“It can make that contribution through measures such as terminating its tickets to make the oil available to the market.
“We have not yet determined how we will do this, but the Government will ensure that the impact on Kiwis is minimised.
“We should not overlook the fact that we are making a small but significant contribution to protecting global economies and helping to ease the oil price and supply issues around the world,” Jones said.
Travel impact and our alternative routes to Europe
Potential future solutions
Is a renewed push for sustainable aviation fuel on the way?
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
