Corporate Travel News

New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges announced (26-Apr-2017) appointments and reappointments to the Boards of Maritime New Zealand (MNZ), the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Mr Bridges has reappointed/appointed: Peter Cowper to the Board of MNZ; Vanessa van Uden and professional director Mark Darrow to the Board of the NZTA; Adrienne Young-Cooper to the NZTA Board; and Anna Adams and Grant Lilly to the Board of the CAA. [more - original PR]

Statistics New Zealand reported (26-Apr-2017) international visitor arrivals to New Zealand were stable year-on-year in Mar-2017. Details include:

• Total international visitor arrivals: 343,799, -0.2% year-on-year;
• • Oceania: 138,832, -5.9%;
  • • Australia: 123,856, -7.1%;
  • Asia: 90,768, +2.5%;
  • • China: 42,000, +3.8%;
    • Japan: 12,032, +8.2%;
    • South Korea: 7584, +3.5%;
    • Malaysia: 4928, +33.9%;
    • Singapore: 4272, -12.2%;
    • Hong Kong: 3872, -26.2%;
  • Europe: 55,024, +2.0%;
  • • UK: 23,408, -6.5%;
    • Germany: 11,408, +9.4%;
  • Americas: 51,888, +14.8%;
  • • USA: 38,432, +17.3%;
    • Canada: 7920, +10.7%;
  • Africa and Middle East: 4432, -1.4%;
  • • South Africa: 1808, -9.6%;
• Departures: 192,234, +11.2%. [more - original PR]

Adelaide Parafield Airport received (26-Apr-2017) 'Level 3 Optimisation' Airport Carbon Accreditation by Airports Council International. This accreditation is the third of four levels, Level 4 being the highest achievement whereby an airport is able to absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide as it produces over an entire year. [more - original PR]

Sydney Airport welcomed (26-Apr-2017) Etihad Airways' announcement it will upgauge its second daily Abu Dhabi-Sydney service to the A380 from Oct-2017. Sydney Airport MD and CEO Kerrie Mather stated "We've continued to invest in airport improvements to increase capacity in order to support these larger aircraft, and we're thrilled that Sydney Airport will finish the year as the fourth largest A380 hub in the world". Sydney Airport will be Etihad's third A380-only operation globally and add 123,000 seats per year and see 14 weekly A380 frequencies on the route. [more - original PR]

Australia Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch believes Cairns Airport should target to attract widebody services to enhance the region's agricultural industry, commenting: "I'm confident we will fill the belly of those aircraft up" (Cairns Post, 26-Apr-2017). Mr Entsch agreed with the airport's decision to postpone terminal expansion plans to focus on developing its business. The Minister hopes to attract airlines like Emirates which operates a majority fleet of widebodies.

Townsville Airport COO Kevin Gill said minor terminal upgrades will commence in May-2017 as part of a major AUD40 million (USD30 million) major redevelopment project (Townsville Bulletin, 26-Apr-2017). Mr Gill said the major redevelopment project is still pending confirmation as negotiations with Qantas regarding the proposed AUD3 (USD2.3) increase in passenger charges to fund the project is ongoing. Mr Gill added: "We believe we made a reasonable offer which would deliver a new lounge for them…it's a charge to airport users…not a charge to the airlines… We know people are prepared to pay".

Etihad Airways plans to reduce Abu Dhabi-Melbourne capacity in winter 2017/18, effective 29-Oct-2017 (Routes Online, 24-Apr-2017). Both Melbourne frequencies will be downgauged including:

• EY460/461: Boeing 777-300ER replaces A380;
• EY462/463: Boeing two class 787-9 replaces 777-300ER.

The carrier operates daily on the route.

Air New Zealand was named the most reputable company in Australia in the annual Reputation Index produced by research group AMR and the Reputation Institute (The Australian, 26-Apr-2017). Air New Zealand increased five places from 2016's sixth-placed ranking, beating other carriers Qantas and Virgin Australia who also made the top 30 list.

New Zealand's Minister for Economic Development, Transport, Communications & Associate Finance Simon Bridges, via his official Twitter account, stated (23-Apr-2017) the Emirates SkyCargo facility handled 20,000 tonnes of New Zealand export freight in 2016, which has grown by 18% in the past year alone.

Air New Zealand, via its official YouTube account, posted (23-Apr-2017) its latest South America campaign, based on its 'Better Way to Fly' campaign. The one minute TVC features Dave the Goose exploring Buenos Aries' culture, food and wine. [more - TVC]