Published on : Thursday, May 24, 2018
The airline chiefs from Australia and New Zealand say that the passengers are paying the price for light-handed regulation of airports in the absence of appropriate constraints on monopoly power.
The airline bosses put aside commercial rivalry to highlight the challenges they faced at the launch of a report in Canberra.
The report commissioned by Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) was launched in Parliament House in Canberra and said the four main airports across the Tasman were collecting 25 per cent more revenue per passenger than they were 10 years ago, and that services had not improved.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon was at the event and said there were similar problems and challenges in this country and airlines were united on the issue.
Luxon’s airline had good relationships with all the airports in regards to their operations and other initiatives, such as tourism promotion, but it fundamentally disagreed with the pricing regime.
Ultimately all the added cost and charging impacts the public because they are passed on with higher charges.
Legislation dating back to 1966 meant airlines struggled to enter into commercial relationships with airports on an equal footing.
But the New Zealand Airports Association said the regulatory regime was working and there was close monitoring.
Association chief executive Kevin Ward said that the charges reflect the actual costs and is a fair and reasonable profit.