NZ: Airlines say clock ticking for Auckland Airport on pricing response

Airlines are turning the heat up on Auckland Airport, saying it should reduce its prices rather than "exploit its monopoly position" and ignore a Commerce Commission finding that the company could be overcharging by up to $37m. As commerce minister Kris Faafoi grows increasingly impatient with a lack of a response from the airport, the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand says the company should reveal its intentions around its pricing regime before its next shareholder dividend is fixed in mid-March. Barnz executive director Justin Tighe-Umbers said Auckland Airport has an important choice to make - "do the right thing by its customers and reduce its prices, or continue to exploit its monopoly position and enrich shareholders'." His group has a meeting scheduled with the company for later this week.<br/>