Billie Moore: Airports Association CEO on Auckland Aiport's domestic airfield upgrade

Auckland Airport's investing nearly $150 million into a major domestic airfield upgrade. 

It's part of works to help enable future growth in regional flights across the country. 

Car parks next to the domestic terminal will be shifted to make way for four new aircraft parking stands dedicated to regional services. 

Airports Association Chief Executive Billie Moore told Mike Hosking it's an important move for Auckland Airport, in terms of growth. 

She says 40% of regional flights go to and from Auckland, so the rest of the network relies on them to increase capacity. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Auckland Airport are into a major domestic upgrade time I

(00:03):
should give it to you seventeen past seven. They're looking
to unlock regional capacity. So there's going to be four
new regional aircraft parking spots right, some of those could
hold a jet if the jets get into the regional routes. Now.
Billy Moore is the chief executive at New Zealand Airport's
Association and is back. Well this Billy, very good morning
to you.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
How much of a service any given service is the
parking space versus a demand for the seat?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well, Look, the airport has to build thirty years in advance,
or do its planning thirty years in advance. So what
the Aucland Airport is doing here is looking at population projections,
travel projections alongside the airlines, working through that and seeing
what is an appropriate increase in capacity. Auckland Airport is
essentially New Zealand's biggest regional airport. Forty percent of regional

(00:49):
flights go to and from the airport, so the rest
of the network does rely on Auckland to increase its
capacity for turboprops. So the rest of the airports can
also receive and grow as well, so it is a
really welcome announcement. It feels like the right level of
investment than through to twenty twenty eight.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
You use the word turboprops, are we are honestly going
to be still in turbo props in thirty years time.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, we're certainly going to be in turbo props for
decades to come. Absolutely, So I would say in New
Zealand will be using the Q three hundreds for you
through to twenty thirty five twenty forty. Potentially. These are
really good, reliable aircraft and there's really no debate about
that in the aviation sector. And there's the right size

(01:35):
of aircraft and many regional routes. So one of the
things we often have to balance is people do like
to travel on jets, but also turboprops mean they can
have more frequency for business travel and more flights during
the day, so it is still a really core part
of travel and regional New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
They clip the ticket though walkland airport. I mean this
is good for them as well, doesn't The more people arriving,
the more landing fees there are, et cetera.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Which is a really important part of the system. Airports
are insty device to have growth. Airlines are able to
increase fears for yields, but airports are inty device to
grow volume, and so that is an important part of
making the system work because more capacity means that air
feares can go down with more competition and more flights

(02:18):
coming in. So yes, they obviously do. Landing charges are
an important part of the system, but it's already part
of their capital plan. I think the leanning charges for
these regional flights are going up a dollar in twenty
twenty seven, so it's all pretty good on track at
the moment.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Good stuff, Billy, you have a good weekend. Appreciate it
very much, Billy Moore. And might I suggest if you've
ever been to Auckland Airport at that end of the terminal,
it really is. I mean, not only do you get
to go outside in the wind and the rain and
get really wet and you watch your luggage pulled by
some poor bloke in a trolley, you then get to
go on a crappy old aircraft that go run but

(02:55):
then homus not.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
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