Auckland to Norfolk Island direct flights to cease next year.
Jan 4, 2017, 9:56 pm
#31
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
I really liked those old Whisper Jets / Quadra Puffs / call them what you will - I remember how good AN's domestic service was in its heyday (and how good NZ's became thanks to the competition). It was on an AN 'blue ribbon' service (their equivalent of today's 'Koru Hour') in Y CHC-AKL as a student that I first got a taste of how enjoyable it can be to enjoy a decent meal and a glass of wine at 35,000 feet while looking down on the beautiful landscape below... I think that's when I started to get hooked! On the other hand, the only ever engine failure I've ever experienced was also on an AN BAe146, which was quite an exciting experience. Thankfully there were 3 other hairdryers to keep us aloft as we circled back to AKL...
Jan 5, 2017, 12:14 am
#32
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: NZ Koru
Posts: 6,415
Based on this example here, the seat count was 90.
I really liked those old Whisper Jets / Quadra Puffs / call them what you will - I remember how good AN's domestic service was in its heyday (and how good NZ's became thanks to the competition). It was on an AN 'blue ribbon' service (their equivalent of today's 'Koru Hour') in Y CHC-AKL as a student that I first got a taste of how enjoyable it can be to enjoy a decent meal and a glass of wine at 35,000 feet while looking down on the beautiful landscape below... I think that's when I started to get hooked! On the other hand, the only ever engine failure I've ever experienced was also on an AN BAe146, which was quite an exciting experience. Thankfully there were 3 other hairdryers to keep us aloft as we circled back to AKL...
I really liked those old Whisper Jets / Quadra Puffs / call them what you will - I remember how good AN's domestic service was in its heyday (and how good NZ's became thanks to the competition). It was on an AN 'blue ribbon' service (their equivalent of today's 'Koru Hour') in Y CHC-AKL as a student that I first got a taste of how enjoyable it can be to enjoy a decent meal and a glass of wine at 35,000 feet while looking down on the beautiful landscape below... I think that's when I started to get hooked! On the other hand, the only ever engine failure I've ever experienced was also on an AN BAe146, which was quite an exciting experience. Thankfully there were 3 other hairdryers to keep us aloft as we circled back to AKL...
I wonder if an Bae 146 would work for AKL-NLK? I think there is still an Quick Change that is being used somewhere in Aussie, if only it could be used as an Combi.
Jan 6, 2017, 2:19 pm
#33
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: AKL
Programs: NZ Elite (*G), IHG Spire Elite, Accor ALL Gold
Posts: 216
I could see the ATR 72 fitting the gap pretty well to be honest. Allows NZ to maintain frequency and loadings. Maybe it's a marketing thing that they want a consistent short haul international service...
Jan 6, 2017, 3:12 pm
#34
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,119
They would need pretty costly upgrades of the ATR's for a start to do this including rafts and HF gear. If you do that to one plane you're going to need to do it to a few.
Jan 6, 2017, 3:19 pm
#35
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,645
That would also require a sub fleet of ATRs with rafts, HF, etc which would be expensive to kit out, additional weight when not doing the Norfolk run, additional CAA paper work, etc