Top service, but the price ...

The cost of flying from Wanganui to Auckland remains prohibitive. Photo/File

I'm thinking of taking the family to Auckland over the school holidays to catch up with friends and give Junior Bell a surprise ahead of his eighth birthday.

In spite of the anticipation of a weekend away in the big city, there is not a great deal of time that passes before the contemplation turns to the six hours plus of travelling "bliss" which confronts all Wanganui travellers wanting to venture to our biggest city - not least the traffic nightmare which awaits.

The irony is that we know had we flown we would have been there in less than an hour.

If you can get over the smallness of the Beechcraft 1900Ds and have a stock of ear plugs to block out the noise, you quickly realise what an excellent service we have. You can be in central Auckland in less than two hours (often the taxi ride from the airport takes longer than the flight).

So, I hear you ask, why don't you fly? Because the cost continues to be prohibitive.

It would have cost the family almost $2500 to do so. I am on the Air New Zealand website as I write this and Wanganui to Auckland return for two adults costs more than some international routes - Wellington to Sydney for two adults and two children is $2088.

Or if you live in Auckland, you can get the family to Queenstown and back on the same days and have money to spare for accommodation.

I know I am looking at holiday peak season but, when it comes to flying out of Wanganui, I have to ask our national airline: "Are you kidding me?!?"

I would have thought that they would actually want people to use their service rather than contemplate that driving for the better part of the day is a more viable alternative.

I have heard theories that regional air travel subsidises international and the main trunk routes but this is kind of bordering on the ridiculous now.

But I'm not here to "bag" Air New Zealand - their service is fantastic and I wouldn't fly with anyone else.

However, in light of its recent financial performance and in spite of its assurances that "regional airfares have actually decreased by around one per cent over the past five years", the prime minister is right to question whether regional travellers are charged fairly when compared to other routes.

Not sure that much of that one per cent came Wanganui's way, but I would be happy to be proved wrong.

I know of many who travel out of Palmerston North - mostly on the basis of price.

As an Aucklander, I was accustomed to travelling an hour to reach the airport but I moved to Wanganui for the very reason that I didn't have to do that sort of thing.

So it's strategically important that our airport and the routes it supports have high patronage and are successful.

Russell Bell's Zenith Strategic Solutions is a specialist Wanganui business advice and consultancy practice. Phone: 021 244 2421.