ZQN

An update from Queenstown Airport

ISSUE 34 / DECEMBER 2017

Queenstown-based legal and commercial specialist Prue Flacks & planning specialist Adrienne Young-Cooper join the board

news

provide real-time parking information. It’s our hope this will eventually become part of a technologically linked up transport system across the district.

We continue to work with our Regional Transport Governance Group partners QLDC, NZTA and ORC to make inroads (pardon the pun!) into local transport issues, particularly around Frankton. Collective runs on the board this year have included the removal of cars from SH6, double laning SH6 at the Frankton roundabout, the opening of Stage 1 of Hawthorne Drive, launching the airport Park and Ride trial and introducing the $2 bus service. We are now just days away from the opening of Stage 2 of Hawthorne Drive and the new Kawarau Falls bridge will be open one-way from 17 December to 8 January, opening fully in April 2018.

The airport’s 30 Year Master Plan has been a key focus this year as well and in August we hit the road to share our thinking to date. The feedback we’ve received locally, regionally and nationally will form a critical part of our thinking and we thank everyone for taking the time to help us shape the airport’s future. Next year we’ll continue to evaluate the Master Plan options and work on unlocking constraints which include our land and noise boundaries and destination infrastructure issues.

In the meantime, we continue to be focussed on the immediate needs of our customers and airport community. This month we’re on track to mark another milestone in the airport’s history as we reach 2 million annual passenger movements, and in the new year we’ll commence the final airfield upgrade (apron overlay) and a full rollout of our new wayfinding signage. We will also be making changes that address key customer and staff pinch points around the terminal and connecting areas.

Celebrating a year of milestonesAs we head towards the Christmas season, it feels timely to take a moment to reflect on this year’s achievements and the outlook for the year ahead.

The introduction of after-dark flights by Air New Zealand and Jetstar last year marked a step-change for the airport as we moved to double-shift operations. This winter, another milestone was reached as Qantas and Virgin Australia became certified to operate after-dark flights.

As a result, the airport community has doubled over the past 18 months, growing from 350 staff to a 700-strong team across 60 businesses. We’re delighted to have all four airlines on board and I’d like to sincerely thank them and the whole airport community for their hard work in making after-dark flights a success.

Other initiatives in the key areas of safety performance, operational resilience and the end-to-end customer experience have included grooving the runway, upgrading the car parking and roading infrastructure, introducing more retail and food/beverage offerings and constructing a new adaptable building to house the QAC operations team, as well as a dedicated emergency operations centre (called “the Hub”).

The connection between the airport and the communities we serve has been a significant focus during the past year. Car parking capacity has increased by almost 70% as we re-introduced the P2 drop-off zone, launched Park and Ride, expanded the staff car park and installed a new coach park and roundabout. Investments in new technology have also improved the customer experience with ‘Tap & Go’ payments in the terminal car parks and ‘RFID’ for commercial operators. We are now installing sensor technology which will

Last month, we said goodbye to two of our longstanding directors John Gilks and James Hadley who retired from the airport board of directors. John and James have provided valuable leadership and a huge contribution during a period of rapid growth and challenges. On behalf of the airport community, I thank them for their support and dedication over many years – they will be missed.

We’re also very pleased to welcome our new directors, Queenstown-based legal and commercial specialist Prue Flacks, who has replaced John as chair, and planning specialist Adrienne Young-Cooper. Please visit the QAC website to view their profiles.

Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your support this year and wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a terrific New Year ahead.

Take care and stay safe.

Colin KeelChief Executive

Ride the bus for $2

can show you how.Choice connects you with Queenstown’s

great transport options!

$2 Queenstown buses are here - #BetterByBus

The Choice is yours!

The face of public transport in Queenstown changed last month, with the launch of Orbus Queenstown, the new $2 bus network. Providing a modern, affordable and efficient transport solution designed to meet the needs of both locals and visitors, the new $2 bus system is part of a wider co-ordinated plan between Otago Regional Council, Queenstown Lakes District Council, the NZ Transport Agency and Queenstown Airport to address transportation issues in the greater Queenstown area. This is very much Phase 1 of the plan and we are proud to be supporting the initiative as part of the regional transport group. Sign up to the new Orbus Queenstown Facebook page for updates. www.facebook.com/OrbusQT

Jetstar has announced it will operate a service between Wellington and Queenstown three times a week from March next year, providing travellers with a choice on the route for the first time since 2013. The airline will operate an Airbus A320 from the capital on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, departing Wellington at 8:35am and returning from Queenstown at 10:25am. Jetstar Head of New Zealand Daniel Banens said Queenstown was a world-class destination and the airline was delighted to be back on the route. “We’ve worked closely with Wellington and Queenstown airports to identify customer demand and we’re looking forward to providing a low fares option on the route ahead of the 2018 ski season, ”Mr Banens said. Queenstown Airport Chief Executive, Colin Keel, welcomed the return of the service saying it provided improved direct connectivity between two major destinations within New Zealand. “We’re delighted that this link is being reintroduced into Jetstar’s domestic network and thank them for their support of the region.”

The Airport Park and Ride has plenty of car parking spaces. If you’re travelling here from around the region, it’s an affordable, convenient transport option.

Located on Brookes Road, behind Mitre 10 Mega.

Plan your journey around the region this summer using the NZTA’s online journey planner and webcams at www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz.

The AA’s road watch service is also handy to find out about accidents and road closures www.aa.co.nz/travel/roadwatch

Make sure you leave plenty of time for your flight, consider all your transport options and keep an eye on the airport website for any important information including delays. www.queenstownairport.co.nz

Bus to Fly

Choice

Stay Informed Plan Ahead

Top Tips for Summer Travel

Jetstar WLG-ZQN returns

1

3 4 5

2

Park and Ride

Queenstown is home to the world’s first, real time, transport options app called Choice.

Use Choice to compare, in real time, which travel options are best for any travel in and around Queenstown. From buses, taxis, shuttles and ride-shares to helicopters all your transport options are in one place.

This app will continue to improve as it brings

on new providers, increasing the travel options and accessibility of Queenstown, making it a great place to live, work and play.

Visit the website www.nzta.govt.nz/choice or download the app at Google Play or the App Store.

ZQN news DECEMBER 2017

New sensor technology is being installed for summer, providing customers with real-time availability of car parking spaces at the terminal. Once fully tested, the sensors will stream the available car spaces to a digital sign at the entrance of the airport and to Queenstown Airport’s website.

October passenger numbers

+9%+17%+15%

International passengers

Domestic passengers

Total passengers

View all airport stats at queenstownairport.co.nz/stats

Chinese Microsite

Sense of Space

MATTERS! SAFETYOur first apron code of conduct was launched

Airport Safety Week 2017Thanks to everyone from the Queenstown and Wanaka airport communities who turned out for the annual Airport Safety Week activities.

From checking our driving speed airside to looking after our mental health and being more drone aware, the initiative brought the airport communities together to focus on airport safety.

We’d love your feedback/thoughts for next year, so please get in touch.

We recently launched a microsite designed to assist Chinese-speaking visitors to more easily access important travel information online. The site provides detail in Simplified Chinese about flights, transport options and terminal information as well as entry into New Zealand, quarantine and security procedures.

It works seamlessly across all mobile, tablet and desktop devices.

Check it out here www.queenstownairport.co.nz/cn

New Chinese microsite is up and running

Real-time parking availability will soon be available

ZQN news DECEMBER 2017

Meet Chris Woods

Customer Experience

While Air New Zealand’s fleet proudly displays the national colours of black and white, it’s the striking red and black of Canterbury that adorn Chris Woods’ office wall here at ZQN.

Christchurch born and bred, Chris is a proud Cantabrian and Crusaders supporter and while he feels “very much at home already” in his new role as Air New Zealand Airport Manager at Queenstown Airport, Chris isn’t converting to Otago blue anytime soon.

Joining the team here in Queenstown in October, Chris has worked in the airline industry for over 17 years, starting out as the mail boy/data entry clerk in Air New Zealand’s Loyalty team.

Fast forward those 17 years, via many countries and aviation roles, Chris is relishing the opportunity to be a part of one of NZ’s fastest growing airports.

In 2004 Chris joined Emirates at Christchurch Airport, launching Christchurch as a new station and gaining work experience in Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore and other far-flung places of the UAE.

After four years he joined Pacific Blue (now Virgin Australia) as a Ground Operations Support Manager, managing nine airports across New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific.

“Flying regularly to Fiji during our Winter months was certainly a highlight,” says Chris.

However working at Honiara International Airport in the Solomon Islands was a little “interesting”, with “lapse safety and a number of characters to deal with”.

By now you will have seen Olivia Pierre around the terminal and hopefully have had time to say hi.

As our new General Manager, Commercial and Customer Experience, Olivia will have primary accountability for defining and nurturing the end-to-end customer experience, working with key stakeholders to ensure airport visitors have a positive and memorable experience.

Chris re-joined Air New Zealand in 2014 as an Operations Manager at Christchurch Airport before becoming Passenger Services Manager in 2015, and was Acting Airport Manager for a while earlier this year.

“It was with a heavy heart I left Air New Zealand initially, so it’s really great to be back and part of such an exciting and innovative company under the leadership of Christopher Luxon.”

So what’s his career highlight so far?

“I’d have to say the most rewarding moment has been the move to Queenstown Airport. Everyone in the community here has been so friendly and welcoming. I was warned you guys were friendly, but wow I have been blown away with people stopping me to say hi and wish me luck.”

“I have also been impressed with the strong work ethic within the various agencies and QAC, all working together towards a common goal. It’s something very special indeed and I’m looking forward to continuing to work together,” says Chris.

In contrast, some of Chris’ challenging times, understandably, came during the Christchurch earthquakes.

“They were some pretty awful times, being constantly thrown around with tremors and aftershocks and we learnt very quickly and on our feet how to cope. One positive take-out was that airlines stepped up and as well as getting customers to where they needed to be, had a significant focus on the safety and wellbeing of their people,” notes Chris.

“It was very tough mentally.”

Along with increased passenger growth at ZQN, Air New Zealand is also going through a period of growth and part of Chris’ role is to take Queenstown Airport to the “next level”.

“With 120 permanent staff now here in Queenstown, we’re no longer a small port. The next largest airport to us in the regions is Nelson with 67 staff, so things have changed from when it used to be seasonally driven. We are fully-staffed year-round.”

“Queenstown’s now entering a different sphere on our Air NZ solar system, so we’re working towards taking our local processes to another level, incorporating them into the wider network which will facilitate and aid growth”, says Chris.

So could he ever see himself cheering for Otago? “No way, not at all. I am Cantab through-and-through”. Oh well you can’t have it all. Really great to have you as part of the team here at ZQN Chris.

Olivia’s also responsible for all business activities and relationships related to aeronautical revenue (landing charges, route development, etc.) and non-aeronautical revenue (ground leases, parking, ground transport, rental cars, retail, etc.). Welcome Olivia!

Olivia Pierre joins the leadership team

Chris Woods

Caffeine Pop-up

Wall-to-wall champagne

A very furry Christmas

Lagardere Duty Free has installed a new champagne feature wall to celebrate all things bubbly this summer. With tailor-made cabinetry, coloured LED lighting, detailing and custom features, three of the world’s top champagne brands are on display.

The new Allpress coffee cart is here until 30 April, serving Allpress coffee from their funky silver caravan in the airport’s forecourt area on the grass. Welcome to the community Anna and team!

Once again, the real stars of Queenstown Airport have stolen the limelight with the launch of the annual Aviation Security Christmas calendar. The calendars are a fundraiser for the ‘Helping You Help Animals’ charity (HUHA), dedicated to teaching empathy to the community and providing shelter for those less fortunate animals that

struggle to survive in today’s disposable culture. They make a great gift and will be available to purchase in-terminal on 15 December or from the AVSEC office at the airport. Dean, Sarah and Amon are proud handlers of Pippa, Bruce and Kye who represent ZQN in this year’s edition, and Pippa even made the front cover for the first time.

AerocareIn addition to contracting its services to Jetstar, Aerocare is now the ground handler for Virgin Australia flights in New Zealand, including Queenstown, effective from 2 December.

We recently welcomed Milford Flights’ 13-seater Caravan ZK-MCI and Air Milford’s 10-seater Cessna Caravan, with Garmin G1000 NXi integrated flight deck, to the ZQN General Aviation community with both receiving the Rescue Fire water arch welcome.

Over The Top also unveiled its new twin-engine BK117 helicopter, adding to its fleet of premium helicopters just ahead of the busy summer season. The nine-passenger seat helicopter is instantly recognisable with Over The Top’s sophisticated and black-charcoal livery, and is the largest helicopter permanently based in Queenstown

Welcome to ZQN

Veuve Clicquot, Don Perignon and Moet & Chandon bottles, including limited editions, are now available in the International Arrivals Duty Free.

ZQN news DECEMBER 2017

Movember Rain

It was raining Mos last month as QAC’s Ops team went head-to-head with Jucy rentals to vie for the title of Queenstown Airport’s ‘Best Mo’ 2017. Thanks to Andrew from Ops for organising the troops to show support, raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues as part of the global Movember campaign. The teams raised over $2,500 for the cause.

Colin Keel helping raise funds for Pink Ribbon

Helena Kennedy and Daniele Tapper working hard at Patagonia

Helping Hands

Pink Ribbon fundraising

QAC Chief Executive Colin Keel and Duty Manager Andi Rapley wasted no time getting in the pink for October’s Pink Ribbon Fundraising initiative. Andi and Colin spent a few hours collecting for the cause outside Wakatipu New World, making new friends – of the furry variety – along the way. Great work guys.

Vanessa Watson from our Ops team, who oversees our education programme, has been busy over the last few months hosting numerous student and youth groups at the airport. We love showing people in the community what happens here at ZQN. There’s always something going on.

Every year QAC and various airport community businesses are proud to support the Branches Trust Student Work Day, a fundraiser for Wakatipu High School Year 10 students.

Branches Camp is an annual “rite of passage” for the Year 10s. It’s the longest running secondary school outdoor education camp in NZ, having started 50 years ago, and its goal is to promote, foster and support the development of young men and women in the Wakatipu community.

Huge thanks to the airport businesses who took part with us this year - Remarkables Sweet Shop, Patagonia, Airspresso - and to the students for their helping hand.

Team Effort

Rescue Fire’s Doug Mckay, who is also Chief Fire Officer for Queenstown Fire Service, knew he could turn to the airport community for a helping hand for a recent event. Air New Zealand Customer Service Agents, Ashleigh and Katie, and Team Leader Customer Service, Jo stepped-up to help at the annual awards dinner last month, giving up their time to man the bar for the night to ensure the 150+ volunteers and family were well cared for. Great team work!

Air Scouts

The Cromwell Air Scouts paid us a visit last month and had a detailed visit looking at how the MPI team look for foreign objects and protect our borders. They even brought out the dogs to help them out. Other highlights included testing their strength with Rescue Fire’s water hose and having their bags scanned by Avsec to learn how they identify potential hazards. Thanks for coming guys.

SIT Visit

Eight students from SIT in Invercargill came to ZQN for a Career Day. They met with representatives from Qantas, MPI, Europcar, Glenorchy Air and Queenstown Airport Operations to find out about all the different businesses and roles needed to ensure an airport runs safely and smoothly. We hope it helps them make decisions about their future careers.

What a fantastic effort from both teams - time to shave them off now?

And the winners are:• Man of Movember – Josh ‘Luigi’ Pearce• Lame Mo – Jucy’s Liam McNamara• Most impressive Team was awarded to

QAC Ops

Education Programme

Flight information re-vamp

Airborne Survey

In the new year our Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS) will undergo a re-vamp, with larger screens, more locations and a cleaner, sharper design in Arrivals, Departures, Baggage Reclaim, Check-in and Gates.

A key feature will be the new state-of-the-art doublesided screens in the main terminal concourse. Spanning 6m wide x 1.7m high, these are the highest quality screens available in NZ and are not only more visible, they also provide additional opportunities for advertising.

MBIE is completing an aeromagnetic survey from December until April 2018, which will see a number of low-flying helicopters (around 35m above the ground) travelling up and down the district.

As well as being the Emergency Operations Centre – or EOC for short- it houses a new dedicated Operations Centre, Operations Control room, training room and offices, all under one roof.

The movement of essential airport operations services into The Hub has released much-needed space in-terminal for use by border agencies, who are also expanding as part of the airport’s continued growth.

Accessed via the rental car park with secure access on the airside frontage, the landside location ensures easy access for non-security cleared personnel to the EOC should this be activated.

The Hub is also now the check-in point for all contractors and suppliers working at the airport.

The Hub is open

For more information and pricing please contact our advertising agency QMS Media or visit www.qmsmedia.co.nz.

The upgrade will enable us to increase the number of screens around the airport by

reusing the old screens in new locations. The new screen designs and layout also align with our new wayfinding signage and provides a simplified, more effective and seamless customer experience.

The survey will help MBIE understand the geology of the area, including mineral deposits, earthquake fault lines, soil types and water resources. Flights will operate from December until April 2018 and the aircraft are expected to only spend a short time over any given location but may do several passes. The flights are only permitted to operate during daylight hours and are subject to the rules and regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority. Queenstown

Airport and Airways are working with the survey operators to manage all aircraft in the surrounding airspace.

For more info please visit www.nzpam.govt.nz or phone Thomson Aviation at 021 269 6870.

WKA news DECEMBER 2017

Sue Telford started her GA journey aged just 18

WKAnews ISSUE 34 / DECEMBER 2017

Experienced GA pilot Sue Telford has been appointed the new Chair of the Wanaka Airport User Group, representing the GA community in Wanaka.

Sue’s flying career started at just 18 when her then boss took her and some colleagues for a wee trial flight around Kapiti. After taking the controls for a while, Sue got the bug and has spent her life flying in the world of General Aviation.

The Upper Clutha Transport Taskforce has released its vision for success for the region’s transport industry to 2050.

Following a number of sessions in Wanaka with over 120 members of the local community, the community-fostered vision to develop Wanaka airport as a “destination for high yielding innovative businesses creating a sustainable aviation hub for the region”, is a welcome recommendation.

New User Group Chair

Future of Air

Supporting Sustainability

Queenstown Airport Chief Executive Colin Keel says the taskforce’s vision is “an important part of the community’s input into the future development of Wanaka Airport”.

“We see Wanaka Airport playing a crucial role in the region’s transport connectivity and support the forum’s recommendation to develop Wanaka Airport into a ‘centre for aviation excellence’, which contributes positively to the Upper Clutha economy.”

In-keeping with our guiding principles, it was a privilege to sponsor the Outstanding in Sustainability category at the 2017 Ignite Wanaka Business Awards. Colin Keel and Olivia Pierre attended the event at Rippon Hall to celebrate business in Wanaka and presented Eastwood Environmental Painting with the award.

A commercial pilot and instructor working in Wanaka for Classic Flights, Sue is a strong advocate for getting young pilots into the GA industry and a big supporter of the New Zealand Association for Women in Aviation (NZAWA). Sue’s looking forward to working with the airport community and QAC over the next year as we engage with the community on the future of Wanaka Airport. Great to have you at the helm Sue.