Cath O'Brien: Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director on Airways raising air traffic control prices

Concern over a never-ending pile of costs for airlines as our air traffic control prices soar. 

Provider of the service, Airways, is putting its fees up 17.7% over the next three years. 

It says its pricing is based on the number of flights scheduled in and out of each airport. 

Airline Representatives Executive Director Cath O'Brien told Mike Hosking some countries' governments invest in these services, but here, airlines pay for everything. 

She says they pay for air traffic control the civil aviation authority, and also airport buildings.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
More cost plus accounting, this time from the airways. Now
airways are the people responsible for air traffic management in
this country. They're putting the flees up seventeen point seven
percent over the next three years, so that's seven point
eight and year one six point five and year two
two point five and year three. Katherine Bryan's executive director
of the Border Airline representative Xanders with us Kath morning,
Good morning mate. Do you get any say in this?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, look we do, and you know, to be fair
to airways, we have had some consultation with them over
the last three while and they have moderated their price increases.
So instead of seeing you know, fourteen percent in year one,
which we did originally see, we're now saying, you know,
I set that seven point percent, as you say, so,
so it's less bad than it and it could have
been we.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Gained it or played do they go instead of seven
point eight, they go, well, it's going to be thirteen
point two and you go no, no, and they go
all right seven point eight.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Yeah. Look, I mean who knows, right, But certainly it's
been a detailed consultation process that has taken a long
time and longer than usual so you know, I'd like
to think that we're all playing with a straight back here,
but you know, here we are another cost for airlines.
You know, on and on it goes, and I think
we're really started seeing the effects of that. I heard
drained from air chats on the on the air this morning.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Do you get anything for it?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, we get a safe and secure sky.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, but you got that already. I mean, do you
get a more safe and secure sky? Do you get
a Christmas present? I mean, does anything change or pay more?

Speaker 2 (01:22):
There's not a free set of staatenes, but I think
we do. We do get, you know, the ongoing investment
in the in the aviation system, and it's and it's
provision of their services. So you know that's important. And
it's not for airlines to say no, air traffic control
is not importantt L No, we shouldn't continue to invest.
Of course we want that. But in New Zealand airlines

(01:44):
pay for everything. We pay for the air traffic control,
we pay for the Civil Aviation Authority all of it.
We pay for every single airport building that's ever built,
and actually and lots of other countries there's state investment
in some of those things. And in New Zealand, we're
passing all of those costs onto airlines and that is
starting to become a very heavy burden.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
And then it'll go straight to the ticket one air.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Looks for sure, and it will, you know, for the
smaller carriers if you add you know, the sixty percent
increase in Klin airport charges between twenty twenty three and
twenty twenty four for regionals, or you add this one
hundred and forty five percent increase in civil aviation costs
as from one July this year for smaller airlines. This
is really starting to become a problem and we're seeing
that with a decision from Sounds. And you know, we're

(02:28):
also seeing New Zealand struggle to recover its international air connectivity,
so airlines are not returning to this market in a
way that's different from the rest of the world, and
that is a concern.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
That's a very good point you, Mike Well and Kath
appreciate it, Kath O'Brien, who's executive director, Board of Airline Representative.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
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