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Speaker 1: Now. The vexed relationship between Auckland Airport and the airlines

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Speaker 1: got another airing yesterday, as we told you on the

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Speaker 1: program when it broke as the Commerce Commission report into

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Speaker 1: the airport's charges was released. Mixed bag. ComCom says the

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Speaker 1: forecast revenue was too high and the charging around planned

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Speaker 1: upgrades that was okay. The Auckland Airport CEO is Kerry Hudahunganui,

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Speaker 1: who is with us. Very good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning mate.

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Speaker 1: I noticed you moved as quickly as you could yesterday

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Speaker 1: once the ComCom release came out. Were you simply testing

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Speaker 1: the water to try it on till you get told otherwise?

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Speaker 2: No, not all. I mean that's the ragime working as

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Speaker 2: it's intended to. We had sat in the draft report

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Speaker 2: that came out in July last year that if they

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Speaker 2: continued to see a difference in that range than what

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Speaker 2: we'd targeted for, we would move, and we did. The

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Speaker 2: difference really being about probably how you treat comparative sets

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Speaker 2: and risk off the back of the pandemic, probably being

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Speaker 2: that a funnel driver of that difference of view on

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Speaker 2: what that targeted return should be. If you take that

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Speaker 2: into account.

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Speaker 1: Do you accept what the ComCom said is because they're

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Speaker 1: right or because you have to.

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Speaker 2: Listen to one of these things, because it does come

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Speaker 2: to risk, right, and risk is one of those elements

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Speaker 2: that is not always black and white. Certainly, coming out

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Speaker 2: of the pandemic, you saw that play right, and a

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Speaker 2: lot of that risk sits with the airport. And when

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Speaker 2: you invest in infrastructure, if the passengers don't turn out,

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Speaker 2: for example, we've had a slower recovery and tourism across

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Speaker 2: and vettings, then we plan to That risk sits with

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Speaker 2: the airport that doesn't sit with others. So no, I

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Speaker 2: think it's that element of the regime balancing all of

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Speaker 2: those things in the long term interests of the consumers,

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Speaker 2: actually not in the short term interests of airlines or

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Speaker 2: airports for that matter.

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Speaker 1: The advantage you have is, of course, per passenger, it's

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Speaker 1: a handful of sets of not a couple of bucks.

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Speaker 1: As opposed to some of the stuff you're arguing about

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Speaker 1: about the increase in the cost of airlines. Is the

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Speaker 1: relationship you have with your customers i e. The airlines

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Speaker 1: more fractious than it should be.

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Speaker 2: I think you need to probably split it out. Mike

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Speaker 2: and what I say is that at operationally running safe

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Speaker 2: seamless operations is the goal of both airlines and airports.

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Speaker 2: There's a symbific relationship there. We rely on each other

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Speaker 2: for our fortunes. So on a day to day basis

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Speaker 2: and looking towards things like future innovational technology, we work

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Speaker 2: really well together. Every five years, when you get into pricing,

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Speaker 2: there is always tension and it is fractious. Nobody wants

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Speaker 2: to cost to go up, which is understandable. We're facing

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Speaker 2: those pressures as well. So I think the pricing conversations

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Speaker 2: are different than what I would describe kind of the

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Speaker 2: day to day and ongoing relationships.

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Speaker 1: Appreciate your companies almost carry Who to Hang ANDOWI? Who's

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Speaker 1: the Auckland Eports?

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Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to

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Speaker 2: news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow

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Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.