RNP good news for Queenstown Travellers

Air New Zealand’s ability to fly its domestic and international customers into and out of Queenstown over the busy winter season has been further enhanced with 18 aircraft now fitted with advanced navigation technology.

Required Navigation Performance (RNP) was introduced onto six of Air New Zealand’s 737s two years ago, with the initiative so successful that it has now recently been extended to the airline’s A320 aircraft, making it the first airline in the world to have an entire A320 fleet RNP enabled.

Air New Zealand General Manager Airline Operations Captain David Morgan says RNP has been used to assist domestic jet arrivals and departures into Queenstown more than 2100 times. Without the use of RNP, at least 150 services would have been cancelled, significantly delayed or diverted.

“In the past two weeks we’ve used RNP around 50 times, enabling at least 15 flights that would previously have been disrupted by the wintery weather. Yesterday’s inclement weather conditions required the use of RNP, which enabled us to get our customers into and out of Queenstown unhindered.”

Captain Morgan says there are also significant environmental, fuel and operational benefits as a result of RNP, and estimates disruption savings of just under $3 million during the two-year period.

RNP had proven invaluable for Air New Zealand’s domestic services into Queenstown, and Captain Morgan expects trans-Tasman customers will welcome the increased reliability of services into New Zealand’s winter playground this year.

“The introduction of RNP onto our A320s means Australian customers will be able to rely on Air New Zealand flights arriving and departing as scheduled with fewer weather-related disruptions.”

RNP enables specially trained pilots to fly to lower altitudes with a more precise and efficient route into the airport, helping reduce the impact of bad weather on services. Because of its high precision, RNP also reduces noise emissions and can significantly reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by using much shorter, curved approaches to airports.

Queenstown is one of New Zealand’s most challenging airports due to its mountainous terrain and pilots require special training to be able to fly into the destination.

Air New Zealand 737 Fleet Manager Captain Mark Owens, who regularly flies jet services into Queenstown, says approximately 80 Air New Zealand pilots are now trained in RNP.

Captain Owens says pilots covet the opportunity to fly into Queenstown due to its unique terrain, with RNP enhancing the experience for both customers and crew.

“RNP technology both improves operational efficiency and enhances safety, while delivering big benefits to our customers. In the depths of winter it’s really pleasing for to know that because of RNP, we’re more likely to succeed in our mission to deliver our customers to their holiday destination.”

Captain Morgan says the airline is now working with regulatory bodies to investigate how it can use the technology to reduce fuel consumption and emissions on A320 services into other airports.

Work is underway with the Australian Civil Aviation Authority to gain regulatory approval to operate RNP into both Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and the airline is already using RNP at Port Vila in Vanuatu.