Wellington Airport
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Wellington Airport and what is Infratil's investment?
Infratil owns 66% of Wellington Airport's shares, with the remaining 34% being owned by Wellington City Council.
Wellington Airport's financial statements of 31 March 2008 show total assets of $619 million, net debt of $294 million and shareholders equity of $325 million.What are the main characteristics of Wellington Airport?
The airport is on a small site (110 hectares) close to Wellington City.
Air services are mainly domestic (85%) with international links mainly to Australia. There are a small number of services to Samoa and Fiji.
Growth in services and hence use is dependent on airline activity, in particular on the activities of airlines willing to compete with the dominant local carrier.
Aeronautical charges are reset every 5 years via a consultation process between the Airport and its major customers. The last two consultation rounds (1997 and 2002) were contentious but resulted in agreements between Wellington Airport and its major customers. The 2007 round resulted in average aeronautical revenue being increased 2.5% per annum. This is being litigated by Air New Zealand.
The Airport is focussing on enhancing passenger services. This has been very successful in both improving the airport experience for users, and financially also. In 2006 average aeronautical income per passenger was $8.36 (rent on aeronautical property contributes a further 68 cents/pax) and services income has now reached $4.60/pax.
The Airport has relatively little land not committed to aeronautical activities, but the development of this property is now starting to provide a meaningful contribution to the Airport's income.
What are Wellington Airport's main commercial risks?
Wellington's main risk is from reduced airline services and competition.
In recent years AirNZ (the Airport's main carrier) has twice endeavoured to combine its operations with Qantas (the second largest carrier). These were stopped by the NZ Commerce Commission (confirmed by the High Court) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Four material airline users of Wellington have also withdrawn over the last decade.
A second material commercial risk is in respect of ill structured regulation. While Government expressly rejected airport regulation in 2002, it has now initiated the imposition of new economic regulations from 2012. Wellington Airport has managed to ensure it does not warrant economic regulation, however adverse outcomes in this regard can not be ruled out, especially given the political interest.
Who are the Directors of Wellington Airport?
Infratil usually has four appointees to Wellington Airport's Board and the City Council two. At present Infratil's appointees are: Chairman, David Newman (Director, Infratil), Tim Brown (Morrison & Co) and Paul Ridley-Smith (Morrison & Co).
The Council appointees are Kerry Prendergast, who is the Mayor of Wellington and Denis Thom, who was the Chairman of Wellington Airport prior to Infratil making its investment, when the majority owner was the Crown.
Who do I contact if I have an operational interest in Wellington Airport?
Please contact:Mike Basher, Chief Financial Officer
Wellington International Airport PO Box 14175 Wellington Ph 04 385 5153 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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