Business View Oceania | Volume 3, Issue 9

53 54 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 9 members time and allows them to focus on their own businesses. Important programs run through Aviation New Zealand include AIRCARE™, an integrated accreditation program that requires operators to apply the same robust risk management processes to environmental safety that they have adopted for flight safety, Down to the Wire, which encourages farmers to remove wire hazards for aerial top-dressers, and a just-launched Helicopter Safety Initiative, which addresses major issues in helicopter safety surrounding loss of control and performance management. Aviation NZ also provides a range of business advice and templates to members, provides a peer-to-peer business network so that individual companies can address problems, and provides members with access to support programs. These include N3, a wide-ranging procurement program, OFx, a foreign exchange program, and Manage, which helps with ACC premiums. This work requires that Aviation NZ communicates regularly with its members. We produce a weekly e-newsletter which is also circulated to government agencies, prospective members, and aviation influencers. It has 1576 subscribers. Divisions also produce e-newsletters in the total NZ fleet will not be apparent until CAA publishes the results of data gathered up to July, 2021. The industry remains optimistic. Accelerating the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations will be important, as it will hopefully give the Government more confidence to open our borders, and address the significant issues faced by our tourism and international training sectors. We need this to happen quickly, before we lose more capability and capacity, and before more companies close permanently. The UAV industry is growing rapidly. The safe integration of this industry into shared airspace, the adoption of new technologies and the impacts of climate change are challenges to be faced in coming years. It is critically important that Aviation New Zealand continues to acquire the expertise, in these new areas to remain relevant, credible and a strong voice for members. It is also hoped that the new Civil Aviation Bill will lay stronger foundations for a growing and dynamic industry for the foreseeable future. AV I AT ION NEW ZEALAND for their members, and Aviation NZ produces a periodic member-only e-newsletter. The organization makes extensive use of social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and runs webinars. Aviation NZ works closely with a number of other associations, from the broad Business New Zealand and NZ Chambers of Commerce to other aviation associations, including the Aviation Federation, NZ Airports Association, Airline Pilots Association and BARNZ. We also work with other sectoral groups where there are common interests (Groundspreaders Assn, Agcarm, NZ Agrichemical Education Trust, Federated Farmers, Road Transport Assn and Tourism Industry Aotearoa). These relationships are important in terms of developing common positions, accessing relevant technical competence, and sharing intelligence. COVID-19 hit the New Zealand aviation industry hard, just as it affected the industry globally. Aviation NZ’s initial response was to develop distinct priorities for action, including reducing costs for continued member viability, keeping members operating and making sure they were ready for recovery, and kickstarting the economy by identifying aviation projects and activities which could start as the country or region/s downgrade restriction levels. 4. What does the landscape look like for the aviation industry over the coming decade, and how important is commercial, international, and general aviation to the economy of New Zealand? How will Aviation New Zealand continue to be a viable voice for the industry? Today, companies mostly reliant on the domestic economy, especially agricultural aviation and UAVs, are generally doing well. Companies exposed to international business, especially tourism operators and training organisations, are struggling. Many have downsized significantly. As the August/September 2021 lockdowns imposed through a COVID-19 outbreak show, the domestic market for scheduled services and tourism/charter operations is very fragile. Engineering activity reflects the welfare of their customer bases, but supply chain challenges have emerged as an issue. In June 2021, there were 4534 powered aircraft on the New Zealand register including 886 helicopters. This equates to one aircraft per 1072 people, and one helicopter per 5487 people. The full impact of COVID-19 on the number of operational aircraft