Mānawa Bay opening reignites tensions between airlines and Auckland Airport - The Front Page

Thousands have flocked to the new Manawa Bay shopping mall, causing traffic congestion and flights to be delayed at nearby Auckland Airport. Photo / Michael Craig

A long-running feud between Auckland Airport and the airlines that use it has re-ignited, triggered by the opening of its flash, new mall last week.

Thousands of people have flocked to Mānawa Bay since it opened its doors on Thursday, causing congestion on the roads, flights to be delayed from the nearby airport, and passengers being moved to later flights.

NZ Herald deputy business editor Grant Bradley told The Front Page airlines weren’t happy about how the airport monetised its business.

“They are disappointed, and they are frustrated. The airlines are worried that Auckland Airport is concentrating too much on the commercial side of the business, the retail, the investment property,” he said.

More than half of the airport’s revenue came from this side of its business, Bradley said.

“Airports are pretty good at getting every last dollar out of a captive audience... they are very interested in tempting you to the shops. It’s been said that Auckland Airport is a large shopping mall that just happens to have a runway there, perhaps a little unfair...the airlines’ view is that the airport company should be doing more for passengers and planes.”

Airlines have already come out swinging against the airport’s plans to substantially increase the cost of landing fees, or the price airlines were charged to land at the airport.

Jetstar said it would be difficult for its domestic operation to continue if the airport followed through on its plans, and Qantas said it could lead to an annual drop in passengers of 1.5 million.

The Commerce Commission also said the charges the airport had proposed were too high.

“The friction between the airport and airlines is big. It’s as old as the hills really. It usually comes to a head around price fixing every five years,” Bradley said.

Any increase in landing fees had the potential to be bad for both airlines and the airport, he said.

“Low-cost carriers in particular, or the low fare end of the market, they’re a discretionary purchase for people who travel on those lower fares and every dollar counts. Whether it’s going to deter people, those volumes from flying through Auckland Airport is probably up for debate. But it will certainly put some people around the margins of travelling,” he said.

Auckland Airport was also in the middle of a multi-billion dollar upgrade - which included bringing the international and domestic terminals under the same roof and required negotiation with airlines.

Bradley said feelings were already running high between the two parties, and fall-out from the Mānawa Bay outlet mall opening was something they didn’t need.

“They’ll be hoping that shoppers have maybe had their fill of rushing out to Mānawa Bay. I guess what the Commerce Commission delivers in their final ruling (around landing fees) may lower the temperature, but I think certainly on the commercial side, they are fated to scrap it out,” he said.

Listen to the full episode to find out more about the long-running dispute between the airport and airlines.

The podcast is presented by Susie Nordqvist, a former presenter and producer for TVNZ and Newshub. She began her career as a newspaper reporter and was a finalist for best newsreader at the NZ Radio & Podcast Awards for her work at Newstalk ZB.

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