35,000 More Seats on offer for Gisborne Travellers

The Eastland Community Trust and the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce have joined together to secure more than 35,000 additional aircraft seats a year between Auckland and Gisborne.

The initiative, which has seen ECT and the Chamber negotiate with Air New Zealand to bring its 50 seat Q300 planes into Gisborne, will open Gisborne up to more airline seats and subsequently more opportunities.

Under the agreement ECT and the Chamber will fund a portion of landing charges equivalent to approximately $3.20 per additional seat flying to and from Gisborne for a three year period.  This is expected to amount to just over $100,000 per annum which will be paid directly to the airport. The Chamber’s contribution is $10,000 and the Trust will contribute the rest.

This move has been brought about by a landing fee price gap between Eastland Infrastructure Ltd (airport operators) and Air New Zealand.  . The Chamber recognized Gisborne businesses and people were missing out on opportunities because of the inability to get flights and approached Air New Zealand and Eastland Infrastructure to work out a solution.

ECT chairman Gary Alexander said the initiative was a welcome one for Gisborne which needed more flight capacity to capitalize on increased visitors, availability of business trips and economic growth.

“The funding of $3.20 per additional seat is a small price to pay for better access to Auckland, greater flexibility to meet international flights, more tourists and generating increased airport activity.”

Chamber of Commerce spokesmen Malcolm MacLean and Chris Tyerman said the introduction of the Q300 was a significant one for Gisborne that held many benefits.

“The chamber is rapt to have been part of this project which will bring real opportunities back to local people through better access to and from Auckland.

“Additionally this means that Auckland businesspeople can arrive into Gisborne by 8.10am and depart later in the day. This has more recently been a major impediment to business in Gisborne with people being unable to get seats to our region at short notice,” they said.

“The accommodation sector has also been restricted in being able to book large conferences due to lack of availability of seats.  This new initiative should create the opportunity for growth in the area.”

Mr MacLean and Mr Tyerman said the Chamber appreciated the way ECT had come on board recognizing the benefit to both business and recreational travellers.

Mr Alexander said ECT supported the initiative because whilst it agreed the airport landing rates passed by the Gisborne District Council were fair and reasonable they were also affecting current seat availability between Gisborne and the country’s busiest metropolitan centre.

“We expect our investments, through the Eastland Group, to be run on a commercial basis and to earn appropriate revenue. We wanted to expedite this Q300 service, and whilst we understand the commercial realities of a level of landing fees necessary to run the Gisborne airport, we also understood we would have to fund some of these landing charges to make it happen now,” said Mr Alexander.

“We recognize air services are a vital link for a remote region like Eastland and the increased seat numbers will have a number of advantages - both business and pleasure.”

The new Q300 will replace several Beech 1900D flights five days a week between Gisborne and Auckland from May 29, 2008.