Airline, council to investigate HQ shift
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.
Whakatāne District Council agreed earlier this month to waive airport fees for the airline for the next six months.
Langford, also the chief executive of Whanganui Airport, said the business case would look at costs and how much the council may need to contribute.
'Ultimately, this will be a commercial arrangement,' he said.
'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.
'You'd be charged a fraction of the price in annual leases to be there.'
The council has applied for $3.6m from the RIF to complete a parallel taxiway at the airport.
Stage one of that project is already under way.
Langford said the council's always looked for external funding sources for projects, rather than 'just defaulting to debt funding'.
Emeny said Air Chathams had about 140 permanent staff, with 50 to 60 based in Auckland.
'It would be a big shift for our Auckland team and not everyone will be up for that.
'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.
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