July 30, 2025 • 4 mins
Airlines have had another challenge thrown at them as our sole air traffic control provider hikes prices.
Airways are upping fees for commercial airlines by an average of 17.7% over the next three years.
However, it's acknowledged airlines are doing it tough and still recovering from Covid-19.
Air Chathams Chief Executive Duane Emeny told Ryan Bridge as a state-owned enterprise, the Government have some control over Airways' cost.
He says they could go to Airways and say they need to do better, as they shouldn't really be making a profit while airlines are suffering.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The cost of flying to and from every airport in
this country is about to go up. Airways. These are
the guys who run air traffic control. They're upping their
fees seventeen point seven percent over the next three years.
Dwyane Eminy is the Air Chatham CEO with me this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Dane, Good morning, very good morning, Brian.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Good to have you on the show. What does this
mean for you?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Ah, well, it's another cost. It's another structural cost that
we have no control over, that we have to you know,
somehow absorb or attempt to pass on. So yeah, it's
not a good thing.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Is it enough to put you know, regional airlines out
of business? I mean, we're seeing a lot of stories
about regional airlines struggling at the moment. Is you know,
obviously this is not a great move, But is it
enough to tip some over the edge? Do you think?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah? I think what you've already seen it an't you?
I mean with sounds, are you've got fruits being cut,
you've got airplanes being sold? I can assure you that
all regional airlines, including yourselves, are looking at similar things.
So you know, it's it's not it's just not going
to work long term if we keep doing the same
old thing and hoping for a different result, I think, really,
(01:04):
you know, in our opinion, we've got to really get
back to the root cause of why why we have
the issue that we have today. And you know, I
look at it and think, well, we seem to have
a more expensive system from a customer perspective, but we
actually have a worse service. So why is that? And
it was interesting I was coming on talking to you
(01:26):
this morning. I was having a look back at some
of the reports sort of November twenty fourteen and when
Aysia made their decisions to cut one of the original
carries at the time, which was Eager Air. They had
a fleet of about eighteen small eighteen ceed aircraft that
really connected a lot of regional New Zealand and at
the time it was the decision was made to cut
(01:48):
that because it was costing and test reluctance words a
million dollars a month, so twelve million dollars a year.
But that that airline would be cut and then the
investment we're down into larger tubo proper aircraft. Ultimately everyone
would get a bit of service at lower cost. Well,
you know, we are ten years later and that's absolutely
(02:08):
not the net result hasn't happened.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
What so, what do we need to do to fix
this then? Because I mean airways, I mean, well it's
a bit of a It's a monopoly, really, isn't it.
I Mean they consult and then they just charge essentially
what they want, but presumably they have costs they need
to increase and cover as well. What's the solution?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, well, I think you look at the airways example.
I mean, and again this is my opinion, they hide
behind their state owned enterprise band. Right, what's the legislative
requirement to provide a profit back to their shareholder? Which
is effective for a government, so you know, the government
had some control over that cost. They could actually go
to airways and say, hey, we needed a better here.
(02:50):
You know, we shouldn't really be making a profit while
these regional airlines and other airlines in general suffering. So
you know, what can we do about that? Because the
reality is there is no other that's going to come
in and compete against them because the infrastructure costs required
to do that are significant. So I think that's an
area that needs to be looked at. And then again
(03:12):
you've got to go back to the root course, like
ten years ago, twenty years ago, we had a much
more vibrant aviation ecosystem in this country. You had a
lot more airlines, a lot more aircraft, so you had
a lot more people playing into the system and paying
into the system as well. But of course, as any
zones made decisions to withdraw from these smaller regions, you know,
(03:33):
cut its fleet size, consolidate into larger terbo proper aircraft
and obviously into gen aircraft on some of these regional routes,
it ultimately means you've got less planes, less frequency, in
my opinion, or worse service, but you've actually got less
people playing in. So then these bloated corporate organizations like
your ways and the CIA is some extents, because they
(03:56):
all run corporate structures, they have high pay salaries and
really high overheads, they have to spread that across the users.
And of course the only way you can do that
is put the prices up. And that's what's happening, that's
what you're seeing. That's what's airlines like us they're trying
to put into ticket prices. The customers pushing back and saying, hey,
this is too much. I'm jumping the car and drive.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Yeah, it's literally unaffordable. Doane appreciate that really interesting stuff?
Dwyane Emini, who's Edge Adam's chief executive.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Listen live to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
The cost of flying to and from every airport in
this country is about to go up. Airways. These are
the guys who run air traffic control. They're upping their
fees seventeen point seven percent over the next three years.
Dwyane Eminy is the Air Chatham CEO with me this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Dane, Good morning, very good morning, Brian.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Good to have you on the show. What does this
mean for you?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Ah, well, it's another cost. It's another structural cost that
we have no control over, that we have to you know,
somehow absorb or attempt to pass on. So yeah, it's
not a good thing.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Is it enough to put you know, regional airlines out
of business? I mean, we're seeing a lot of stories
about regional airlines struggling at the moment. Is you know,
obviously this is not a great move, But is it
enough to tip some over the edge? Do you think?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah? I think what you've already seen it an't you?
I mean with sounds, are you've got fruits being cut,
you've got airplanes being sold? I can assure you that
all regional airlines, including yourselves, are looking at similar things.
So you know, it's it's not it's just not going
to work long term if we keep doing the same
old thing and hoping for a different result, I think, really,
(01:04):
you know, in our opinion, we've got to really get
back to the root cause of why why we have
the issue that we have today. And you know, I
look at it and think, well, we seem to have
a more expensive system from a customer perspective, but we
actually have a worse service. So why is that? And
it was interesting I was coming on talking to you
(01:26):
this morning. I was having a look back at some
of the reports sort of November twenty fourteen and when
Aysia made their decisions to cut one of the original
carries at the time, which was Eager Air. They had
a fleet of about eighteen small eighteen ceed aircraft that
really connected a lot of regional New Zealand and at
the time it was the decision was made to cut
(01:48):
that because it was costing and test reluctance words a
million dollars a month, so twelve million dollars a year.
But that that airline would be cut and then the
investment we're down into larger tubo proper aircraft. Ultimately everyone
would get a bit of service at lower cost. Well,
you know, we are ten years later and that's absolutely
(02:08):
not the net result hasn't happened.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
What so, what do we need to do to fix
this then? Because I mean airways, I mean, well it's
a bit of a It's a monopoly, really, isn't it.
I Mean they consult and then they just charge essentially
what they want, but presumably they have costs they need
to increase and cover as well. What's the solution?
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah, well, I think you look at the airways example.
I mean, and again this is my opinion, they hide
behind their state owned enterprise band. Right, what's the legislative
requirement to provide a profit back to their shareholder? Which
is effective for a government, so you know, the government
had some control over that cost. They could actually go
to airways and say, hey, we needed a better here.
(02:50):
You know, we shouldn't really be making a profit while
these regional airlines and other airlines in general suffering. So
you know, what can we do about that? Because the
reality is there is no other that's going to come
in and compete against them because the infrastructure costs required
to do that are significant. So I think that's an
area that needs to be looked at. And then again
(03:12):
you've got to go back to the root course, like
ten years ago, twenty years ago, we had a much
more vibrant aviation ecosystem in this country. You had a
lot more airlines, a lot more aircraft, so you had
a lot more people playing into the system and paying
into the system as well. But of course, as any
zones made decisions to withdraw from these smaller regions, you know,
(03:33):
cut its fleet size, consolidate into larger terbo proper aircraft
and obviously into gen aircraft on some of these regional routes,
it ultimately means you've got less planes, less frequency, in
my opinion, or worse service, but you've actually got less
people playing in. So then these bloated corporate organizations like
your ways and the CIA is some extents, because they
(03:56):
all run corporate structures, they have high pay salaries and
really high overheads, they have to spread that across the users.
And of course the only way you can do that
is put the prices up. And that's what's happening, that's
what you're seeing. That's what's airlines like us they're trying
to put into ticket prices. The customers pushing back and saying, hey,
this is too much. I'm jumping the car and drive.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Yeah, it's literally unaffordable. Doane appreciate that really interesting stuff?
Dwyane Emini, who's Edge Adam's chief executive.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Listen live to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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