Revealed RNZAF sorties by John Key, ministers and VIPs

An Air Force Iroquois helicopter. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Prime Minister John Key used Air Force choppers to get to rowing and Christian music events, and Prince William and high-ranking Chinese army officers are among other VIPs flown by the RNZAF in the past two years.

The Herald yesterday obtained details of RNZAF flights for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet covering the period from August 2009 to the end of March.

They show Mr Key has used the Iroquois helicopters 10 times for a total of 29.9 flying hours over the period. That doesn't include the trip he took two weeks ago from Auckland to Hamilton in order to attend the V8 Supercar races and be back in time for a golf club dinner.

The Herald understands the flying hours do not include the choppers' flying time between their base in Ohakea and the Prime Minister's departure and arrival points.

However the total does include five Iroquois flights taken in and around Christchurch since the February 22 earthquake.

Mr Key's non-emergency Iroquois flights include a November 2010 trip to Karapiro for the World Rowing Championships, and in January this year to the Parachute Christian music festival near Hamilton where he appeared and sang a song.

Mr Key's use of the Iroquois, however, is dwarfed by his use of the Air Force's Beechcraft Kingair twin engine aircraft which he used 32 times for a total of 96.6 hours. Most of those flights were to Wellington.

The aircraft were also used frequently by other ministers.

Labour's Mt Albert MP David Shearer, who obtained the flight details from Defence Minister Wayne Mapp in response to written questions, said they showed "a clear trend by the Prime Minister and senior ministers to increasingly use the B200 and other aircraft for purposes where a much cheaper commercial flight or road transport would do".

Mr Shearer said some of the increase could be explained by the Pike River tragedy and the two Christchurch earthquakes "which seems legitimate particularly when the number of commercial aircraft flying might have been limited".

Defence Force annual reports show use of Air Force aircraft by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet more than doubled from 32.2 hours in the year to June 2009 to 82 hours in the 2010 financial year.

Mr Shearer said the figures released to him suggested ministerial use of the aircraft was continuing to increase, could not be explained by the quake and Pike River disaster alone, "and seems to be more a desire to use the Air Force inappropriately".

"Some flights appear gratuitous, where the Air Force was simply used so that John Key and ministers could make an appearance."

Other ministers' use of the B200 aircraft over the period comprised of 16 trips totalling 50.5 hours. Like Mr Key other ministers - particularly quake recovery minister Gerry Brownlee - increased their use of the Iroquois choppers after the February quake.

Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand used the B200 aircraft eight times for a total of 19.8 flying hours.

Over the period the Air Force made 16 flights to transport visiting overseas VIPs. Those flights include a 6.4 hour trip to Sydney by one of the Airforce's Boeing 757 jets in early 2010 to transport Prince William.

Earlier this year when Prince William was visiting quake-ravaged Christchurch, the Air Force records an Iroquois flew for just under half an hour around the city with the royal entourage aboard.

Meanwhile in 2010 one of the Air Force's 757s was used to transport General Guo Boxiong of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to Wellington. His comrade Lieutenant General Yong was choppered around the Waiouru area late last year.