Shane O’Hare officially got his feet under the desk almost two weeks ago, having arrived from Tasmania where he was Launceston Airport’s chief executive, part of Australia Pacific Airports Corporation, which also owns Melbourne Airport.
He said Launceston was one of the first airports in Australia to experience 100% domestic recovery post-Covid, and now welcomed about 1.7 million passengers per annum and continued "growing very quickly".
There were similar challenges to Queenstown, including a growing community which requires the airport to meet its needs, he said.
Queenstown Airport is at the beginning of delivering its aspirational 10-year master-plan, while Launceston was in the middle of extensive taxiway and terminal upgrades when Mr O’Hare signed on.
Mr O’Hare said it was a "very sophisticated, well thought-out plan".
"If we’re true to the execution of [it], we will have delivered on community expectations [and] shareholder expectations."
The self-confessed plane spotter has spent 40 years in aviation and recalled as a child either riding his bike or nagging his mother to take him to Tullamarine (now Melbourne Airport) to get his fix.
"I remember my mother once saying, ‘he’ll get over it’, and I was thinking ‘I don’t know when that’s going to happen’."
His career includes a range of senior executive positions around the world, including appointments at Melbourne Airport, Qantas Airways, Etihad Airways, Royal Jet Group and Star Alliance.
He also founded regional airline Seair Pacific Airlines, an award-winning tourism operation in Queensland, Australia.
As to what drew him to the Queenstown Airport gig, aside from his love of aviation, Mr O’Hare said he also had a deep tourism background and had always admired the way New Zealand built a "really strong, sustainable strategy around tourism".
"But also the opportunity, too
— there’s not many airports like Queenstown Airport, on many levels.
"It just felt like a really good fit for the ambition of the airport, some of the challenges that they have right now in making sure that we’re growing to meet the needs of tourism, particularly international growth across the Tasman, but meet the needs of the community as well."
Mr O’Hare was hoping to buy a home in Queenstown in the next six months.
