Grateful, humble, appreciative, guilty: Air Milford’s chief pilot Antony Sproull has mixed emotions over the company’s successful application to the government’s Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme (STAPP).

On one hand, Mr Sproull feels the $500,000 grant received by Air Milford, which is owned by his parents Hank and Kerrie Sproull, arrived at a “hugely critical time and is appreciated".

On the other hand, he feels “really bad" for those tourism operators who missed out, or who felt discouraged from applying because they didn’t think they could meet the “super tough" criteria.

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“I really think that the government rushed it through and that is coming to hurt them a little bit. Of course, if they had more time, it gives more clarity to criteria and you wouldn’t been in this situation. I think they might have to do a second submission to it, to try and satisfy everyone and make sure it is fair and just,’’ Mr Sproull said.

Radio New Zealand reported this week that many of New Zealand’s tourism operators are calling for a review of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s controversial fund.

Just 130 of 300 applicants nationwide have successfully received a STAPP grant and RNZ has revealed that ministerial advisers expressed concerns about the fund before it was implemented.

When the STAPP fund was first announced by Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis in June, there was a strong social media backlash against multi-million dollar grants awarded to Queenstown company AJ Hackett Bungy, Discover Waitomo and Whale Watch Kaikōura, before the fund had officially opened to other companies.

In August, seven tourism business units owned by the Queentown-based Wayfare Group received $500,000 grants each (total $3.5 million): Real Journeys excursions to Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Rakiura Stewart Island, and the Te Anau Glowworm Caves; the Earnslaw and Walter Peak; Cardrona and Treble Cone ski fields; and the International Antarctic Centre.

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This week the list of southern tourism operators to receive a slice of the $400 million Tourism Sector Recovery Package grew to include Air Milford (Queenstown, $500,000) and Te Anau Helicopters ($500,000).

Other Southern Alps businesses to receive grants include Alpine Helicopters and Southern Lakes Heliski (Wanaka, $500,000), Back Country Helicopters (Makarora, $500,000), Glenorchy Air ($500,000), and Southern Alps Air (Wanaka, $500,000). 

(For the full list as at September 11, CLICK HERE.)

Real Journeys' Te Anau Glowworm caves has received a STAPP grant. PHOTO: Supplied

Mr Sproull said the Air Milford team felt “very fortunate’’ to receive a grant from the COVID-19 rescue package for tourism operators.

“We are obviously very fortunate and pleased and grateful for this opportunity. But the first thing is just showing some humility towards it because there are a lot of others less fortunate than us.’’

“The first thing is appreciation, because if it wasn’t for that [grant], with the wage subsidy coming to a close, things would have been extremely tough. We are talking about selling planes in a market that is not profitable to sell aircraft. It is a buyer’s market, like the housing scene at the moment. So, it’s been a bit of a miracle for us to be able to retain staff and equipment.”

Air Milford has five planes and 10 staff. Mr Sproull is proud that the company has retained everyone employed before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred.

“We need senior people to hold a certificate for civil aviation. If we lose those people, we cannot operate and will have to close down. We have to pay them pretty well . . . It is not just a desk job. It is quite skilled. So that’s a big relief to have the STAPP allocation. A big component will be towards wages and machinery.’’

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Even before applying for the STAPP grant, Air Milford changed its products and services to appeal to New Zealanders and people on small holiday budgets.

With borders closed and international tourists out of the picture, the competition for the New Zealand dollar was forcing prices to drop, in some cases by up to 50%, Mr Sproull said. 

Milford Air had responded by offering individual flight prices ranging from $99 (Wakatipu basin flight) up to $500 (flight to Milford Sound).

The company had also teamed up with the Earnslaw and Walter Peak to create a new fly-cruise product at an “intermediate price’’ of $199.

Mr Sproull said the company was using what it had learned during the last global financial crisis to reposition its products. That included reintroducing “locals’ days’’, which had been successful during the GFC.

Air Milford’s first local day activity, a camping/picnic experience on Branches Station on October 10 had sold all 40 seats for its morning flights. Afternoon departures were now being planned.

Some of Air Milford’s STAPP funding would be used to promote new group flights from Queenstown to Stewart Island. These were receiving encouraging enquiries from Aucklanders, Mr Sproull said.

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Mr Sproull said he studied the STAPP criteria for a week before applying.

“It was probably the biggest application I have ever had to do. I think the thing that is very controversial right now is that there were three categories and the third category was “exhausting all other financial areas’’. That was quite ambiguous. They only gave you two weeks to do this [application]. Their explanation was that the time was critical for businesses and they wanted to get the money out there as soon as possible. That is understandable, is legitimate. But I do feel there was an element of potentially trying to rush it through . . .

“Sincerely, I felt I wouldn’t have put the application in if we didn’t [meet criteria], but the other side of it, with any application, is you don’t know until you try and they are the judges. . . . You either don’t do it and miss out, and some operators are feeling a little upset that they didn’t. Or the other side is you try your luck and you will soon be told if you don’t meet the criteria.’’

Mr Sproull said Air Milford was fortunate to be a financial member of Tourism Industry Association, Aviation New Zealand, and Tourism Export Council NZ.

“They were quite instrumental in our application. These are expensive memberships. We are talking over $1000 a year and lot of operators don’t sign up . . . But when things get stressful, like what we are in now, that investment has been really wise for us. We have been able to fall on them. They have lawyers and professionals who can actually advise us.”

Mr Sproull said he particularly felt for the Tourism Export Council, which had fought hard for allied members.

“There were 100 plus who did get STAPP, but for the other side of their business, the inbound operators, the ITOs, they weren’t given initially any STAPP funds. But now I think they have allowed them to have loans, but not access to the grants. It is tough. There’s a line in the side. The difficult thing is the clarity and transparency of it all and I think the Government has got some questions to answer around that.” 

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Mr Sproull said STAPP recipients could feel reluctant to talk about the grant, because of the backlash over AJ Hackett Bungy. 

He had had to remind himself Air Milford had been operating for 22 years and had built up its business and community and paid “a lot of tax’’ during that time. While the STAPP grant was small in comparison to that amount, it was still “hugely critical and appreciated’’. 

“Then I think: “We have got to try and remove the guilt from it as much as possible. . . I don’t envy being politics . . . because that job must be a nightmare.’’

The Southland App approached Te Anau Helicopters owners Gaven and Jennie Burgess for comment about their STAPP grant, but they were not available this week.

A Wayfare Group/Real Journeys media spokeswoman said this week the company was “still in discussions’’ with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and “nothing has happened yet’’ regarding additional STAPP funding applications made by the group over and above the $3.5 million announced in August.