Service and Maintenance Issues
A sudden surge in flight cancellations to minor centres has brought the airline some negative publicity over the last six months ending May 2012. Airline manager Carrie Hurihanganui said sudden FAA and CAA enforced directives regarding the 1900D type have been unavoidable and the airline understands the frustrations of local communities that rely on Eagle Airways to deliver. Frequent cancellations to the town of Westport have forced the mayor of the town to formally complain to parent company, Air New Zealand, to address this issue. Other small towns such as Masterton and Wanaka have also raised concerns about rescheduling of flights without prior notice by Eagle Airways. Also public opinion believes the 1900D is now considered too unreliable as a type for the harsher New Zealand weather conditions with frequent cancellations due to maintenance issues.
The entire 1900D fleet was grounded on the 7 August 2012 after hairline cracks were found in the tail area of an aircraft during routine maintenance inspection, again highlighting the unreliability of this type. This grounding caused widespread travel chaos across the smaller centres. Initially four aircraft out of the eighteen were cleared to fly, and a week later seven were still grounded. Disruption continued until 16 September. Vincent Aviation provided two Jetstream 32 airliners to Eagle Airways for the duration, a move that has helped maintain some passenger scheduals.
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