NZ is a high cost airline & Beech 1900's are expensive per seat to operate.
We didn't mention $59 fares.
Yes, NZ may have been a high cost airline but it was at least a good product, with excellent standards.
Business types are getting Q300's... I fail to see how a bunch of Saab's will sway them.
The towns which have been "abandoned" were due to low numbers. Whakatane might have supported a daily Q300 return but lots of folks were already driving to Rotorua/Tauranga because it was cheaper
Kiwi's are cheap and love to complain. Most of the complaints about route closures will be coming from people who didn't use the service or used it sporadically.
As for Ewan Wilson's latest Airline, it's all academic really. I'd be amazed if CAA gave him an AOC and the Route structure on the website is mind boggling. Almost looks like he gave a toddler a map of New Zealand and some crayons.
The markets abandoned where not necessarily cancelled due to low numbers but rather a dead end future or the need to help prop up other routes. TUO-WLG was usually well used, but a Q300 on TUO-AKL is going to be hard work in itself, let alone if you had to fill a Dash to Wellington too. WRE-WLG, another good route, but the Q loads ex WRE for AKL are hardly chocka so why not send em via AKL and pocket the difference?
And how much of the losses were due to crew shortages at Eagle and having to get charter operators in to fill the gaps??
Having said all that, the economics of the B1900 make it a basket case of an airplane and there is no obvious replacement so what'ya going to do? Pretty much what they have done I would say.
As for Ewan Wilson, I'm pretty sure the guy has never held an AOC himself so it's all new for him in many ways. Looking at this proposed route structure though, I'm pretty sure Air NZ can, via one stop options, compete with him on every single route he is proposing. It'll be a blood bath.