REPORT ON AIR SERVICES NEW ZEALAND

15^th TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP
Santiago de Chile, April 19 - 23,1999

TPT/WG/15/CT/SC/4.5

Third Meeting of Steering Committee on
More Competitive Transportation Industry (including Infrastructure)

 Report on Air Services

NEW ZEALAND

REPORT BY NEW ZEALAND TO THE STEERING COMMITTEE ON MORE COMPETITIVE TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY (INCLUDING INFRASTRUCTURE) ON IMPLEMENTATION OF AIR SERVICES GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS

The Steering Committee on More Competitive Transportation Industry (Including Infrastructure), at its meeting during the 13th Transportation Working Group Meeting, endorsed the Comprehensive Report on the Options submitted by the APEC Air Services Group on More Competitive Air Services With Fair and Equitable Opportunity. The Steering Committee recommended that Economies could provide progress reports to the Steering Committee, on a voluntary basis, on their implementation of the recommendations.

New Zealand presented a progress report to the 14^th Transportation Working Group Meeting in Seoul. Since that meeting, New Zealand has held successful air services negotiations with Thailand and Mexico. The outcome of these negotiations will be included in New Zealand's progress report to the 16^th Transportation Working Group Meeting in Hong Kong.

Implementation of the Options

New Zealand’s International Air Transport Policy provides for immediate implementation of the Air Services Group’s recommendations, as follows:

Option 1: Air Carrier Ownership and Control

New Zealand’s standard approach is to seek to remove from bilateral agreements, and exclude from new agreements, the provision referring to the ability for one Party to withhold etc, operating authorisation from an airline designated by the other Party where substantial ownership of that airline is not in the hands of nationals of the Party designating the airline. New Zealand seeks to have included, in place of the substantial ownership provisions, a provision that an airline be incorporated and have its principal place of business in the territory of the Party designating the airline, while retaining the provision that effective control be vested in the Party designating the airlines, nationals of the Party, or both.

Such provisions have been included in arrangements signed with Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Chile.

Option 2: Tariffs

New Zealand’s standard approach is to seek to remove all tariff filing requirements from air services agreements.

The requirement that tariffs be approved has been removed in arrangements signed with Australia, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Chile.

Option 3: Doing Business Matters

New Zealand maintains a non-discriminatory, open market approach to these matters.

Option 4: Air Freight

New Zealand seeks, on a reciprocal basis, to remove from existing agreements and exclude from new agreements, all route, capacity and traffic rights restrictions on international air services, providing unrestricted opportunities for dedicated air-freight services, and for combination services.

Option 5: Multiple Airline Designation

New Zealand has adopted a multiple designation policy since the 1960s. Multiple designation is provided for in all but two of the bilateral air services arrangements negotiated by New Zealand with APEC economies.

Option 6: Charter Services

New Zealand has a liberal approach to the operation of non-scheduled/charter passenger and freight air services. In some instances, this is explicitly provided for in bilateral air services agreements entered into by New Zealand whereby the unrestricted route, capacity and traffic rights arrangements applied to scheduled operations also apply to non-scheduled operations.

In other cases, as is common practice world-wide, non-scheduled international air services are dealt with on a unilateral, case-by-case basis, requiring the approval of all relevant authorities. Applications which meet safety and security requirements, and do not circumvent bilateral air services arrangements are approved.

Option 7: Airlines’ Co-operative Arrangements

New Zealand’s standard approach is to create maximum opportunities for airlines to serve markets by whatever means those airlines deem to be commercially sensible, including third-country code-sharing arrangements. Pursuing open market arrangements wherever possible increases the prospect of competitive service being provided by additional airlines. Concerns regarding the impact on competition of airlines’ co-operative arrangements are addressed through the competition regulatory framework.

Option 8: Market Access

New Zealand seeks, on a reciprocal basis, to remove from existing agreements and exclude from new agreements, all route, capacity and traffic rights restrictions on international air services, including in respect of seventh and eighth freedom (cabotage) opportunities.

New Zealand’s Individual Action Plan

New Zealand’s 1999 Individual Action Plan includes a summary of the situation in respect of progress in negotiating these elements into bilateral arrangements with APEC economies. The relevant extract from New Zealand's 1999 Individual Action Plan is attached for the information of APEC economies (as noted above, negotiations have subsequently been held with Thailand and Mexico).

Ministry of Transport
Wellington
31 March 1999

Extract from New Zealand's 1999 Individual Action Plan 

R = Reduced Restrictions

New Zealand has also concluded less liberal air services agreements with a number of APEC economies (Canada; China; Chinese Taipei; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Korea; Japan; Papua New Guinea; Russia; and Thailand).

New Zealand is willing to negotiate new air services agreements with APEC members Mexico and Peru, and will continue to pursue reciprocal liberalisation of its bilateral air service agreements and specifically, increases in capacity entitlements and route options. New Zealand is willing to consider, in bilateral air services negotiations, proposals for the removal of all barriers to trade in air services with any economic partner on a reciprocal basis. New Zealand is also willing to consider liberalisation as outlined above with groups of like-minded economies.

This page was last updated on 11 February 2000