It is a tough time to be running a regional airport in New Zealand. Just last week, Air New Zealand announced it was cancelling 1,100 flights due to rising fuel costs, many of them to airports outside the main centres. Over the past few years, flights and seat availability to regions outside our major cities have steadily declined as the cost of flying to the regions has increased. So, is it time to reconsider how many airports we actually have and instead focus on a smaller, more financially resilient network? That is something Shamubeel Eaqub, chief economist at Simplicity, has been thinking about, and he Emile for a chat.