Pacific Blue

A disagreement between three expert witnesses on whether anti-icing procedures should have been carried out dominated court proceedings yesterday in Queenstown in the prosecution of a pilot charged with operating his Pacific Blue Boeing 737 jet carelessly.

An automatic warning, "Don't sink, don't sink", sounded in the cockpit as Pacific Blue Flight 89 took off from Queenstown Airport on June 22, 2010, the Queenstown District Court heard yesterday.

Pacific Blue's internal investigation into flight 89 from Queenstown to Sydney in June 2010 concluded there was "no evidence" passengers were exposed to an "unacceptable level of risk", Judge Kevin Phillips heard yesterday.

After a wait of about 40 minutes, passengers on Pacific Blue flight 89 from Queenstown to Sydney in June 2010 were told moments before take-off, in an in-flight announcement, words akin to "We're going to give it a go", the Queenstown District Court was told yesterday.

Thirty seconds after Pacific Blue flight 89 took off from Queenstown, a Fire Rescue Service member called the control tower, remarking "how big are his gonads?"

The Civil Aviation Authority has laid charges of "unnecessary endangerment" following a Pacific Blue flight from Queenstown to Sydney last year.

An Australian consumer watchdog is expected to release its decision on the proposed alliance between Air New Zealand and Pacific Blue by the end of the year.

Pacific Blue says the pilots of a plane that may have breached flight rules when taking off from Queenstown airport have been stood down.

Dunedin International Airport has been given a boost by the confirmation Pacific Blue will add another direct flight to Brisbane later this year.

The dynamics of the airline industry regularly change as competitors search for profits, thus affecting services and airports.