Weight restrictions with small-plane hops in NZ?

The Air New Zealand restrictions for baggage are on http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/before-you-fly/baggage/default.htm Basicly you are allowed 1 25kg checked in and 1 7kg carry on bag. I think it depends a bit on the pesonallity of the check in person as to how strict they are but I always smile when I go to the check in and have never been charged for being marginally over. Looking at the routes you will be flying, my guess is that you will be flying on a Bombardier Q300 or an Aerospatiale ATR72 on those routes. They are fairly small I guess but modern and quite comfortable.

Thanks for that link, very helpful.

remember to hide your gas/white spirit stoves they don't like them even if you follow their proceeders of correct packing etc

Don't even think about hiding your gas or white spirit. It is very dangerous illegal and I certainly wouldn't want to be travelling on a plane with anyone who was doing so. There is a simple process to follow to carry liquid fuel stoves on planes. If the counter staff are not familiar with it, refer them to this document. See http://aushiker.com/documents/AHN%2033%2002%20Camping%20Stoves.pdf The process with gas cylanders is also very simple. Leave them behind. Don't take them on the plane.

Just to emphasise the seriousness of a possible fuel leak on an aircraft, and you can just imagine the smell of fuel from the baggage compartment of an aircraft and the reaction it would cause. Aparently there have been incidents. If anyone here has been on a SAR operation involving an airforce Iroquois Helecopter you might recall in the briefing they give is basicly this..... make sure your stoves are in good order because if any of the crew smell gas then they open the door and ALL the packs go out, regardless of altitude!!

well we properly cleaned out our fuel bottle and they still were not buying it. They got aviation security to smell it and no one else but him could smell fuel.

What I have done in the past is to ring the airport before hand and check that they know the procedure. If they don't then tell them to look it up in their manual. Take a copy of the document I refer to above the the counter and make sure they check the manual. The problem is that the previous rules were that any container that has ever carried fuel was prohibited. I guess they don't get people in every day carrying stoves so many staff will not know of the change. If the staff member at the counter still has a problem with that then a complaint to higher management would be warrented. The reason these changes were made was because airlines realised their customers legitimately wanted to carry outdoor stoves on the plane and this procedure was developed as a safe way of doing so. If their staff aren't going to allow people to carry the stove safely then it only encourages people to conceal them which is definitely unsafe. You gotta stand up for your rights!!

pmcke: I don't doubt that the air crew would quickly dump all the packs if they detected a gas smell, and for good reason. Out of curiosity though, are you aware of this ever having happened and what caused it?

Just before these regulations came in there was an article in the FMC Bulletin written by an Air New Zealand executive which explained Air New Zealand's and the airline industry's reasons for the restrictions that were in place at the time and also mentioned the changes that were about to be made. It was an excellent article, if anyone keeps back issues of the FMC Bulletin they may find it. In that article he mentioned that there had been incidents involving liquid fuel stoves on planes. Considering the state of some stoves that I have seen and considering the drop in cabin pressure that you get as airliners climb, I wouldn't be suprised. The comment about throwing packs out was in relation to an Air Force Iroquois helecopter. There are three crew in and Iroquois, the captain, co-pilot and the third guy who operates the winch, manages the payload etc. The third guy is never tied down, he operates on his feet and is only tethered by a safety strap. He works a bit like a monkey and can get to any part of the aircraft in no time. The crew all communicate through headsets in their helmets. I am sure that if the skipper said "packs out" then they would all be out before you could say boo to a goose! The threat of fire in these aircraft is very real and the very hint of it or the possibility of it I am certain would see some very quick action.