Air N.Z. seeks dropping of travel tax

Press, 7 April 1979, Page 6

Air N.Z. seeks dropping of travel tax

I PA’ Auckland Air New Zealand has put' a proposal to the Govern-! ment for the dropping of the 10 per cent travel tax. The proposal had been put! before the Deputy Minister of Finance. (Mr Templeton)! said the airline's chief! executive (Mr M. R. Davis)! at a media forum yesterday, i i Mr Davis said the airline [ had been “working hard" on I the problem of the travel) tax. Apart from any other effects, the imposition of the tax widened any gap between fares out of Australia compared with those out of New Zealand. Travellers bought tickets only to Australia in New Zealand to avoid a higher tax and then bought tickets for onward travel when in Australia, he said. Air New Zealand had recorded disappointing- financial results on its international services during the last four months and still faced big problems, Mr Davis said. Services might be reduced this year because of fuel problems, but he hoped these would not be drastic.! One possible cut in fuel) might come from the Los; Angeles end of services. The United States was applying fuel restrictions to its:, domestic carriers, and this! might affect international!'

hairlines flying into and out |of the United States. The ; likelihood of this had been exaggerated by some news sources, and he believed I the airline would not be hit I too hard. The outlook for Air New' ! Zealand was by no means all gloom. Mr Davis said i “Anybody who has doubts i about the airlines survival i is worrying about something i that does not exist.” he said i Since the beginning of the new financial year there were signs of recovery on the international services, and the airline would continue to expand in the early 1980 s. It was impossible at present to tell whether the airline would face fuel shortages in the next two to three months; recent increase in prices indicated a yearly SIOM to SI2M rise in the airline’s fuel bill. Mr Davis and his marketing manager (Mr N. R. Searle) predicted a new low' season fare between Britain and New Zealand very soon, probably confined at first to the route through Los Angeles on the airline’s interchange service with ! British Airlines; a new fare {package across the Pacific, in spite of the recent setting of new fares in an agreement with the United States: iand new off-peak (winter i months) low fares across the “Fasman soon.