4 April

CEO Update

Dear Colleagues,

I am just just off to the Agusta Westland A109 Grand New at Queens Wharf, on its demonstration tour of NZ. An impressive aircraft on a beautiful afternoon in Wellington http://www.agustawestland.com/news/agustawestland-grandnew-begins-new-zealand-demonstration-tour

The search for MH370 continues, so far without success. Industry focus is now beginning to consider lessons we can learn from what we do know. The opportunity to improve in-flight tracking of passenger aircraft is a key area of focus. Certainly, a benefit of NextGen technologies are improved surveillance capabilities, particularly over remote areas. The implementation and implications of the NextGen operating environment in New Zealand will be a key focus for our Aviation Leadership Summit. We are going to see fundamental changes in our operating environment – there is a lot to think about and digest. And we need to decide what Aviation NZ’s role will be in leading and facilitating these generational changes.

We have had a tremendous response to our survey, with over 150 responses received. We have decided to hold the survey open for one more week – please let us know what you think.

This week, I was also fortunate to attend the 77^th Anniversary celebrations of the RNZAF. These occasions remind me what an expert and capable resource we have with our military. I will be looking for opportunities to work more closely together on a range of issues in the next 12 months and beyond.

Our next Divisional and Council meetings are in May, where we will be finalising our priorities for the next three years. I look forward to seeing you there.

Safe weekend to all.

Index

Aviation Leadership Summit 2014
Council and Divisional Meetings
We want to hear from you!! Last chance
CAA Aerodrome Safety Forum
RPAS Update
Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment
Regional Airports, Crown Jewels
Farewell from Cho, our Intern
New Intern

Aviation Leadership Summit 2014

Our first Aviation Leadership Summit will be held at Westpac Stadium in Wellington 20-22 July 2014. We will have EXCLUSIVE use of the Westpac Function Centre and we have a BRAND NEW venue for our Welcome Reception (so new it hasn’t been opened yet!). Westpac Stadium is New Zealand’s premier multipurpose stadium and has hosted many world sporting and entertainment events.

Celebrating 100 years of aviation – The Future. This is the theme of our Summit. We will celebrate what aviation has achieved over the last 100 years and look forward to what the next century will bring, operationally, technologically, economically and politically. The draft Summit agenda is here

Registration is NOW OPEN for exhibitors and delegates. Exhibition stands are selling quickly. We expect up to 300 people expected to attend the trade show each day and we will be ensuring active engagement between delegates and trade exhibitors. More about this soon! Early bird pricing applies until the end of April, so be in quick.

Sponsors: Our new sponsorship packages are available here. A number of sponsors have already reserved packages, so contact us soon regarding remaining opportunities.

Accommodation: We are finalising our preferred hotels (we’re pushing hard for the best deals). Bookings will open next week.

Council and Divisional Meetings

Next Meetings are 13 May AAA, 14 May NZHA, 15 May Council in Wellington.
Training Division will also meet on 14 May, in Christchurch.
We look forward to seeing you then.

We want to hear from you – last chance!!

We’ve now had close to a 25% response rate. This is extremely high and we really appreciate those insights. We’ve also had a few calls this week asking for the link to be sent again.

Rather than go out through survey monkey again, for those still keen to complete the survey, and we hope a few more of you are, here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AviationSurvey2014

One respondent will receive free entry to the Leadership summit in Wellington, 20 to 22 July.

CAA Aerodrome Safety Forum Wednesday 7 May 2014

The CAA is convening this Forum which will cover a range of topics relevant to airport operations and current safety issues.
See here for more details and to register.

RPAS Update

Some of you will have seen the programme on Campbell Live last Monday. While you may applaud the innovation the attention to aviation safety left us wondering a bit.

CAA has now provided an update on RPAS. They have clearly listened to the submissions received, including from us. More work is being done in CAA and a paper will go to Cabinet in about two months before things open for wider industry consultation.

We’ll continue talking to CAA in the interim. The CAA update is here. The image (to the left) is from Sycamore, a very professional RPAS developed in NZ. The company works closely with CAA and Airways NZ to ensure safe operation and flight. More on Sycamore here: http://www.sycamoreuav.com/

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment

Last week we talked about the meeting with TEC and Ministry of Education. We’ve now had follow ups with MBIE and see this relationship growing. Economic growth, increasing the value of jobs in New Zealand and increasing employment are drivers for the government and MBIE.

Aviation is seen as a sector with a major role in delivering on each driver; and we are committed to growing the growth and performance of our sector. So, what does this all mean? Expect the three government drivers to flow down into performance measures for government agencies.

Expect too more flexibility in the way some policies are developed and implemented – for example we’ve also been talking to MBIE about changes to visa regulations which could improve the competitiveness of our training sector. It is worth keeping this ‘bigger picture’ in mind when talking to government agencies in the aviation area.

Regional Airports, Crown Jewels (sometimes in disguise)

The April edition of Airwaves in Australia , carries a story on the economic importance of regional airports in New Zealand.

Written with the support of the NZ Airports Association, the article notes that regional airports (excluding Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) and their related or co-located businesses contribute NZ$1.18b in value add to regional economies.

Linkages from these businesses generate a further $6b in activity. The article gives Nelson and Hawkes Bay Airports as examples and also refers to the broader workings of the Top of the South Aviation Cluster. More.

Farewell from Cho, our Intern

My internship with Aviation NZ has come to an end. It has been a really good learning experience for me over these 10 weeks working at Aviation New. I would like to use this opportunity to thank you everyone in Aviation New Zealand: Samantha, John, Andrew, Sarah and everyone else who made this a remarkable experience.

Over these 10 weeks, I have learnt more than I expected. I successfully completed several projects, including the Social Media programme in China and Leadership Summit relocation. I created and analyzed the member survey as well.
These projects not only allowed me to learn about many of the aspects of the aviation industry and apply the skills and tools I learnt from my education. I also acquired new skills that I will use in my future career.

The Aviation Industry is always changing and looking for improvements. I am confident to say that the Aviation Industry in NZ is going to grow bigger and bigger with the help from Aviation New Zealand, and everyone in the industry.

New Intern

Feleisha North starts with us on Monday. She is studying for an aviation major at Central Washington University, Ellensberg, Washington.

Her studies so far have included a range of business and commerce subjects, principles of flight, aviation law, airport operations and air transport.

With us until 6 June, Feleisha will be working on the Leadership Summit, proving support to Training and Development and getting the South Pacific Aviation project (World Bank funded) under way.