PM happy to use position to push for better deals

Air NZ's Rob Fyfe got a better takeoff slot. Photo / Kenny Rodger

John Key plans to use the "power of the Prime Minister's office" again to drive international linkages for New Zealand businesses.

The seven-strong business delegation that accompanied Key on his first official visit to China was not a one-off. He plans a similar mission early next year to South Korea, which is negotiating a fast-track free trade deal with New Zealand.

Key's intentions will find favour with the senior businessmen who went with him on his five-day China visit. Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe credits the Key visit as "the catalyst" for the airline getting a better takeoff slot out of Beijing airport, allowing its passengers to arrive at Auckland around daybreak instead of the punishing hour of 3am. "The Prime Minister's visit became a deadline," says Fyfe.

Key simply says New Zealand Ambassador Tony Browne "did a marvellous job". "He went down and said, 'I want my Prime Minister to thank Wen Jiabao as opposed to moan at Wen Jiabao' . And miraculously a day before the meeting the takeoff slot came and I thanked Wen Jiabao."

Fyfe says Air New Zealand's twice-weekly service to Beijing costs the airline about $50 million a year to operate. "If as a result of a better slot time out of Beijing, we can make it more attractive for passengers, it can easily be worth 5-10 per cent more bookings, which could be worth $5 million in value to Air NZ."

The airline boss says relationships are "just vital" to the way business is run in China. While New Zealand had built a good relationship resulting in last year's historic free trade deal, it needed to personalise government-to-government relationships by meeting people face to face. Fyfe devotes more time travelling to China than any other Air New Zealand destination.

He also took advantage of the PM's visit to table the airline's concerns over the high price of Chinese visas for tourists and businesspeople "at both ends".

While the issue was not resolved during the Beijing visit, it is now on the radar screen.

Another side benefit for Fyfe was the chance to discuss opportunities with Education New Zealand head Rob Stevens - who took part in an education presentation - on how they could combine forces to mutual advantage by offering package deals to get more of the 20,000 Chinese students studying in New Zealand to use the airline. Such a deal could also result in a valuable incentive that Education New Zealand could use to attract more Chinese students.

Fyfe says the PM's "relaxed manner" projected well for the airline and the tourism products it was presenting.

Solid Energy's Don Elder, who later sat in on the raft of investment-focused meetings Key held at the Boao Forum, says it was helpful merely having the PM in China at a time when he was resolving issues with two of his company's customers that happen to be Chinese SOEs.

Other delegates were: Fonterra's Henry van der Heyden, Zespri's John Loughlin, Glidepath's Sir Kenneth Stevens, Fomana Capital's Wayne Mulligan and Bob Durrant from Beca Group.