Air NZ to hike Koru membership
This noodle bar in Christchurch’s unofficial Chinatown has no name, not much of a menu and a self-confessed “short-tempered” owner. So what makes people queue for the food?
Air New Zealand is set to increase its Koru membership prices, up by about 20% from April 26.
The airline, on its website, said the hike was needed to cover the increasing operational costs of the programme.
A one-year membership would cost $834, up by $140.
A two-year membership would increase to $1459, up by $240.
A five-year membership would go up to $3374, up by $600.
Passengers with Koru membership access get priority check-in services, luggage benefits, complimentary frequent flyer seating, and access to lounges in the country and overseas.
In February, the national carrier reported a 39% drop in its first half profit that was $129 million after tax.
The airline said the drop in profit was “expected” after it recorded one of its highest-ever results following the return of air travel when borders reopened.
Passenger revenue for the airline was up 21% to $3.1 billion, driven by a significant increase in international capacity. Overall capacity was up 29% on the first half of the 2023 financial year and demand was stable in most markets.
However, the airline’s operating costs, including fuel, had risen by 21% due to the increase in long-haul flights.
Chairwoman Dame Therese Walsh earlier said despite the short-term challenges, the airline was in a “fundamentally strong” position, and would pay a dividend of two cents per share for the first half.
“While we have reported a solid first half result, it is against the backdrop of significant ongoing supply chain issues, particularly the additional Pratt & Whitney engine maintenance requirements on our A321neo fleet, which will see up to five of our newest and most efficient aircraft out of service at any one time across the next 18 months at least.”
The Eden Project NZ – an ambitious scheme to transform part of Christchurch’s residential red zone into an ecological wonderland – won’t go ahead.
The trust behind the project will be wound up, said chairperson Martin Hadlee. It was a “difficult decision”.
The New Zealand Eden Project was modelled on the UK project of the same name that transformed a Cornwall clay pit mine into a tourist attraction with geodesic domes enclosing a rainforest and a Mediterranean environment. The plans for Christchurch evolved over time and one version included a large building in the shape of a hīnaki, or traditional woven eel trap, an outdoor sound shell for concerts, and accommodation. The scale was eventually reduced.
It was to be “transformational and regenerative with an overarching theme of humanity’s connection to the natural world”. It was estimated to cost $100m, but that was always a rough guess because plans never advanced far enough for a firm price to be calculated.
It would have sat on about 40 hectares in the Avon-Otākaro Loop, formerly Avonside, and was probably the most ambitious idea proposed for the red zone.
Covid and the economic downturn played a role in the project’s demise, Hadlee said. The Eden parent organisation had elected to focus on new Edens in the UK and those already underway elsewhere in the world, he said.
According to the latest annual return available at the Charities Register, the Eden Project New Zealand Trust had $2124 in the bank. The register shows the trust’s income was about $650,000 from 2015-2023.
The project was put on hold in 2020 – the first year of Covid – but got a go-ahead from the UK Eden in August 2021.
New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) helped fund a feasibility study with a $153,000 grant in 2020 that went to the UK organisation.
The trust was “proud” that the loop was still designated as a place for “recreational family activities, such as walking, biking, nature playgrounds ... and other opportunities including ecotourism, cultural experiences, pay-to-play recreational activities and food destinations”, Hadlee said.
There is a rumour that another group has green plans for the loop.
Canyi Lin is the owner and chef at a no-name noodle place, situated at the far end of a narrow alley in Christchurch’s Chinatown at Church Corner. The seasoned chef is known for his quick action – and preference for simplicity. .
“I am really short-tempered. I become annoyed easily when people muck around with ordering and making decisions,” said the 50-year-old, originally from Guangdong, China, in 1996.
“So, I give my customers just two options: yes, they dine here; or no, they go. In this way, I save more time and am able to charge less.”
It is difficult to categorise Lin’s place as either an eatery or a kitchen, as it lacks a traditional dining room for customers, aside from eight two-person tables along the alley.
At the entrance of his establishment, a sign reads: “One-person noodle house. Thus, no customer service. Help yourself.”
Another sign states: “Neighbourhood price: $12.”
Lin claimed his noodles were “the cheapest in New Zealand, if not the best”. Many people from other cities like Auckland and Queenstown were usually shocked at the low price – “just two thirds of the price there”, he said.
There are only five dishes on the menu. Close-up shots of food with Lin’s handwritten notes – saying “sold out” or “on sale” – are laminated and hung on the wall.
The eatery did a brisk trade, with Lin selling 100 bowls of noodles a day, on average.
It opens at 10am, seven days a week, and closes when the noodles sell out.
“It depends on the day. As long as I've sold all the food, I close. The earliest could be 12.30, and the latest 2pm.”
Lin said his noodles were “for labourers”, the latest buzzword on Chinese social media that commuters, desk jockeys, and “overtime dogs” sarcastically call themselves.
“I want to simplify the dining experience as much as possible. Why waste your money and time for the whole process of ordering, cooking and serving?”
Lin has been in the restaurant business for 30-odd years.
It took him “around one minute” to make a bowl of noodles and complete the following tasks: take the order, cook the noodles, put them in the bowl, and grab chopsticks for the noodles and a spoon for the soup.
He will take the noodles to the table, but only if no other orders have come through.
“I don’t have time to check whether payment really went through. Most of the time they did and I trust my customers,” he said.
In the past eight years, Lin had increased his prices “once” – from $10 to $12 per dish.
Third-year university student Alexander Zhang is a regular customer. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t want to cook, so I come to Lin’s place. It has the best noodles in town,” he said.
The home-style noodle soup evoked feelings of nostalgia, and reminded him of similar dining experiences at a street stall in China, Zhang said.
Local Leigh Downes said parking was “horrendous” at Church Corner, but he still stopped by Lin’s eatery two or three times a week. “Whenever I come here, I'll grab a bowl of noodles. The beef noodle is so tasty.” He had not had the guts yet to try the pork “intastine” noodle soup.
Intastine was obviously a typo, but Lin said he did not have time to fix it.
When talking about whether his customers appreciated his simple – or zero – approach to customer service, Lin said he had not heard anything negative.
“But I still recall a customer taking eight minutes to decide on his order from my five-dish menu. Eight minutes, can you believe it? He never came back.”