Wellington Airport Monthly Overview - October 2008
14 November 2008
Wellington Airport October 2008 operational figures are available hereWhilst the global economic downturn is contributing to the flattening of passenger volumes, Wellington Airport has not seen the full impact of this. In particular, domestic growth has bounced back. Additional domestic competition and capacity from Pacific Blue as well as the propensity for travellers to downgrade in an economic slowdown (travellers are foregoing their overseas trips in favour of holidays at home) is offsetting a lower underlying demand. Timing differences – the school holidays moving into October by a week this year – is also a factor this month.
Domestic
October passenger numbers increased 17.75% above October 2007, up from the 10% growth of the last few months. The increase is partly attributed to the shift in school holidays. Passenger numbers increased by 17.7% on a rolling 12 month basis compared to the previous year. We expect to see future domestic traffic statistics moderate after the anniversary of Pacific Blue’s arrival in mid November.International
There was no change in passenger numbers between the months October 2007 and October 2008, and on a rolling 12 month basis passenger numbers are up 1.1% on last year. There were 50.2% arrivals and 49.8% departures in October 2008 compared to 51.5% and 48.5% in October 2007. The volumes were impacted by the withdrawal of flights to Nadi and less services to Coolongatta, but offset by passenger numbers on Brisbane services which continued to benefit from the two additional Pacific Blue services commenced in July. Another three Pacific Blue services scheduled for December will provide additional stimulus on this route. The load factor for the month of October has decreased from 84.5% last year to 78.7% this year reflecting the more difficult economic conditions as well as increased capacity, which is up by 7.3% compared to October last year.Infrastructure update
Discover New Zealand and Sunglass Hut both opened in the main terminal in early November. Opening in December will be Mojo cafe, Beach Culture and Essity Skin Care – and improvements are continuing to existing dining areas.Air New Zealand’s check-in area is being reconfigured to accommodate a new auto check-in and boarding system for its domestic services.
Wellington Airport welcomes the Wellington Regional Council’s Corridor Plan which will markedly improve the traffic and public transport route from Ngauranga to the Airport. The Airport’s independent forecasting, which projects a more than doubling of airport users over the next 20 years from 5 million passengers, supports the Council’s foresight in planning for long term infrastructure in advance of regional growth.
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