Air Chathams currently has around 140 permanent staff, with 50 to 60 based in Auckland. Photo / NZME
Air Chathams currently has around 140 permanent staff, with 50 to 60 based in Auckland. Photo / NZME
A potential move to Whanganui for Air Chathams’ headquarters is one step closer, after the airline signed an agreement with the district council.
Through a memorandum of understanding, the two parties will work on a business case for the relocation, which could result in 50 Air Chathams staff leaving Aucklandfor Whanganui.
At a Whanganui District Council meeting this week, council chief executive David Langford said the shift would bolster the commercial viability of the airport, bring jobs to the region and hopefully bring leasing revenue to the council.
“It could potentially be a win for us and Air Chathams, because the cost of real estate in Whanganui is substantially lower than at Auckland Airport,” he said.
Langford told the Chronicle the business case would cost “as close to zero dollars as you can get” because the work would be undertaken by him and one council staff member.
It was expected to be finished in two to three months, he said.
“I’m going up to Air Chathams’ Auckland offices soon,” he said.
“We’ll have discussions with [Air Chathams chief operating officer Duane Emeny] and his team and have a good look around their existing facility, to get an idea of what they would need at Whanganui Airport.”
Emeny said a potential move was exciting, but “the straight up truth” was the airline did not have the appetite to make a big investment in it.
Duane Emeny says there could be an opportunity through the Government's Regional Investment Fund to construct a purpose-built facility in Whanganui.
Earlier this year, he told the Chronicle that rises in aeronautical fees and increased costs for equipment were the latest issues the airline was addressing, with the overhaul of a Saab engine now costing US$1 million ($1.725m) and taking 18 to 24 months.
Previously, the same job cost US$600,000 ($1.050m) with a six-month wait.
There had been a large centralisation in domestic air travel - a “larger planes, lower frequency model”, he said.
“Things are exceptionally tight in the regional aviation space,” he said.
“The Government is spending millions on rail and billions on roads, and poor old aviation doesn’t get a look in.”
In April, Air Chathams said it was considering withdrawing its Whakatāne to Auckland route after losing more than $1m on it since April 2023.
“The council’s involved in this project because, in the long term, it will provide a return on any investment we put into the airport.
“Hypothetically, if we end up building a facility, that won’t be funded from the ratepayer. It would be funded by the leasing revenue Air Chathams pay us.”
Emeny said the business case was about “finding the right mix of things” to make the relocation work.
Whanganui District Council and Whanganui Airport chief executive David Langford. Photo / NZME
There could be an opportunity through the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) to construct a purpose-built facility at the airport precinct, he said.
“The council could then provide some pretty generous terms around how much we pay for the first few years.
“Auckland is horrifically expensive, and we could probably build a hangar that’s a whole lot better than what we’ve got.
“As a business, we need to be really careful with those decisions, because it’s a very specialist industry we’re in and you need highly qualified people.
“They are hard to find.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
