A Queenstown helicopter company has been granted an off-licence to sell alcohol as part of its sightseeing flight packages. This week’s decision by the district’s licensing committee means The Helicopter Line (THL) can serve passengers alcohol — Champagne, other wine and beer — at the scenic locations it flies to from its Queenstown Airport base. The decision has been tipped to likely set a precedent for other tourism operators around the country. It comes more than three years after THL applied for the off-licence, which was the subject of a hearing last month. The application was opposed by the police, the medical officer of health and the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s licensing team. They argued THL’s premises did not meet the Sale of Liquor Act’s definition of a “shop”, and flight packages that included the serving of alcohol did not meet the definition of a “good”. THL boss Mark Quickfall told the committee company staff were often asked by customers if they could provide a bottle of Champagne as part of a flight package, especially for ‘‘celebratory’’ events such as birthdays and marriage proposals. The packages were a small part of its scenic flight operations, but it wanted to provide them in a “controlled and compliant” way rather than relying on informal BYO arrangements. THL counsel Tanya Surrey told the committee the flights themselves were a service, but the alcohol served would be part of a pre-booked package that might also include food, photography and souvenirs. ‘‘We submit that makes it a good, as opposed to a service.’’ In its reserved decision this week, committee chairman Brett Pay and members Lyal Cocks and Neil Gillespie said THL’s application qualified for a legal exemption allowing “complementary sales”. Although the issue was a “vexed one and very nuanced”, they found the company’s premises did constitute a “shop” because its principal business was providing scenic flight services rather than selling food. Although a chartered helicopter flight was a service rather than a good, they found bespoke flight packages that included tangible items such as photographs, picnic hampers and souvenirs qualified as goods, and alcohol was an appropriate complement to those packages. guy.williams@scene.co.nz
