Air
Nelson traces its origins back to Nairn Aviation. In 1976 Robert Inglis and Nicki Smith helped Harry Jenkins establish Associated Aviation in Paraparaumu. Two years later they established their own Motueka-based flying school, Associated Aviation (Motueka). In 1980 they, along with Harry Jenkins, bought Nairn Aviation and changed the flying school and air charter operator's name to Associated Aviation (Nelson). This Nelson-based company was later sold to Martin Butler who gave it the name Air Nelson before he sold the company back to Associated Aviation (Motueka). In 1985 Robert and Nicki decided to concentrate on developing Motueka Air Services and so Associated Aviation (Motueka)’s airline operation was split from the flying school and the airline was formed into a new company, Motueka Air Ltd. Air Nelson became a division of Motueka Air and offered charter, scenic tours, flight training and
aerial photography from Nelson. A number of Cessna single engined aircraft were were used including Cessna 152 ZK-ELV, Cessna
172s ZK-EOK and ZK-EOX and Cessna 206 ZK-DFW.
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| Cessna 152 ZK-ELV at Motueka at 4 February 1989 |
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| Cessna U206F Stationair ZK-DFW at Palmerston North on 24 February 1985 |
Following on the from success of the parent company's Motueka air service Air Nelson began scheduled flights between Nelson on Wellington on the 16th of December 1985. At this time Air New Zealand and Air Albatross were offering
numerous flights on the route with Friendships and Metroliners. Explaining his
company’s rationale Air Nelson’s managing director, Mr Robert Inglis, said,
"There is no intention to rapidly expand the service. We are interested in
being complementary to the other airlines at peak times. We are also interested
in supplying multi-engined aircraft for charter work for companies, sports and
special interest groups." The first flight was operated under the command
of chief pilot Bob Schmuke using Piper PA31 Navajo ZK-NSN. Initially two return
flights were flown on weekdays and one return flight on both Saturday and
Sunday with ticket prices of $55 being lower than both the company’s
competitors.
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| Air Nelson's first aircraft, Piper PA31 Navajo ZK-NSN at Nelson on 20 January 1986 |
Air Nelson’s entry into the market was fortuitous. Four days after the launch of scheduled
service Air Albatross was placed in receivership and ceased operations resulting in a large number of passengers trying to book on the newly established Air Nelson. Robert Inglis told the Nelson Evening Mail, "Most
of our Christmas flights have been booked for the last month. We're putting on
as many special flights as we can within the limits of staff duty hours and
wise operating practices." Asked if his firm decided to begin the Nelson-Wellington
run because it believed Air Albatross was going to fold, Mr Inglis said:
"That's not the reason. We had observed throughout the last year that
there was a gap in the timetable. We were also influenced in the decision to
start by the fact that Air Albatross schedules seemed to be very unreliable. We've
never seen ourselves as another Air New Zealand or Air Albatross. We're just
trying to provide an alternative service at peak times.”
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| Air Nelson timetable number 1, effective 16 December 1985 |
By the end of January the service had grown to two return flights each morning and evening using the
company’s Navajo and a leased Cessna 402 with the company looking for a larger
aircraft. In 1986 two Piper Aztecs, ZK-DIO and ZK-PIX were added to the fleet
to provide additional capacity on the Nelson flights as well as providing
back-up for the Motueka Air Services flights from Motueka to Wellington.
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| Air Nelson's two Piper Aztecs that were used to provide additional capacity on the Nelson-Wellington service... Above, ZK-DIO taken at Nelson on 5 February 1989 and below ZK-PIX taken on 4 February 1989 |
The
“larger aircraft”, which did not eventuate for another 12 months, were two
10-seater Piper PA31 Chieftains, ZK-NSO and ZK-NSP which arrived in April and
May 1987 to cater for the traffic which had been steadily growing on the
Nelson-Wellington route. The new aircraft enabled five return weekday flights to be
operated. A lesser weekend schedule
was also operated.
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| Piper PA31 Chieftain ZK-NSO at Nelson on 21 January 1991 |
With its location at the top of the
South Island bounded by Cook Strait and mountains to the south Nelson has
always been air minded. At the same time as Air Nelson introduced its two
Chieftains Pacifica Air introduced services from Nelson to both Wellington and Christchurch
using a Beech Super King Air. Robert Inglis stated his belief that there was
only room for one alternative airline to Air New Zealand flying the Nelson-Wellington
route and only time will tell if the new Nelson-based airline Pacifica Air will be successful. "We are not competing in the same market, Air New Zealand and
Pacifica Air offer a fast, pressurised and turbine-powered aircraft service,
and our place in the market offers cheaper fares," he said. He puts this
down to more economically-run aircraft. The company intends continuing its five flights a day service between Nelson and Wellington.
The
arrival of the Chieftains saw the introduction of Air Nelson’s smart maroon and
silver colour scheme giving the company a good corporate image. At this time Air
Nelson also tapped into growing demand for charter from business people,
special interest groups and sports teams. They also operated air ambulance flights
for the Nelson Area Health Board for patient transfers and other emergency
requirements.
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| Air Nelson charter... |
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The Nelson-Wellington Commuter Airline
Air Nelson timetable, effective 1 September 1987 |
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| An Air Nelson advertising supplement from the Nelson Evening Mail of 10 February 1988 showing the fleet, the interior of a Chieftain and the staff. |
In
July 1988 Air Nelson and Hamilton-based Eagle Air announced they had joined
forces to begin a regional network linking Nelson with Auckland, Hamilton,
Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Wellington. At the same time it was
announced that in November 1988 Air Nelson would extend its services to the West Coast operating a Wellington
to Nelson, Westport and Greymouth service in the morning and returning along the
same route in the afternoon with a seven seat Piper Navajo.
In
their joint statement, Air Nelson’s managing director Mr Robert Inglis and
Eagle Air’s general manager Mr Don Good said the move meant "unprecedented
commercial co-operation between two New Zealand airlines." The agreement saw
Air Nelson move onto Eagle Air's Qantas-developed computer reservation system
with Air Nelson taking over the Palmerston North-Nelson service from Eagle Air. "Eagle and Air Nelson's aircraft are tailored to
give these routes a high frequency service, allowing the consumer to fly at a
departure time convenient to the operational and economic needs of the
airline." The strengthening of ties heralded a new era of co-operation between
airlines facing the prospect of potentially high cost increases from the
Airways Corporation and airport authorities "which the New Zealand
consumer in today's environment, especially in the regional centres, will not
and cannot pay".
The
statement said Air Nelson would restructure its operations to improve
efficiency and enhance its service. “Motueka Air and Air Nelson would merge,
and be upgraded to a full Piper fleet of Chieftains and Navajos. Its services
to Wellington will thus be considerably enhanced." Air Nelson would also
open its own maintenance division in Nelson. "Air Nelson takes over the
mantle of New Zealand's largest Piper Chieftain operator from Eagle, who at one
stage operated four of these aircraft and had build up a great deal of experience
over 11 years of owning, operating, and servicing these workhorses of the
commuter air business," it said.
For a post on Motueka Air Services see
There were two other pieces of news announced in July 1988. First was the news that Air Nelson would also open its own maintenance division in Nelson. The other announcement was the news that Air Nelson had negotiated a contract
with Ansett New Zealand to handle its freight on the Nelson-Wellington run.
AIr Nelson took over Eagle Air's flights between Nelson and Palmerston North on the 1st of August 1988 with three flights each way on Mondays and Fridays, two flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and a single flight on Saturdays and Sundays. Connections were made at Palmerston North to Eagle Air
flights to Auckland and Hamilton.
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| Air Nelson's Piper Chieftain ZK-NSP at Hokitika on 26 November 1989 |
Also on the 1st of August 1998 Motueka Air merged with Air Nelson and these flights appeared in the Air Nelson timetable. At this point three Aztec flights were operated between Motueka and Wellington each weekday with one flight being operated on both Saturdays and Sundays as well as a Motueka-Nelson service. Also appearing on the Air Nelson timetable was the Monday to Saturday newspaper service to Takaka. This was flown by Cessna 172 ZK-EOX and operated either from Nelson or Motueka depending on what traffic was offering.
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| The Takaka plane... Cessna 172 ZK-EOX at Nelson on 21 June 1991 |
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| Air Nelson timetable effective 1 August 1988... It shows the planned services from Wellington and Nelson to Westport and Greymouth as well as a Palmerston North-Wellington service all of which were to commence on 1 November 1988 |
With the rise and fall of Air Albatross Air
New Zealand recognised the need to change its provincial services. With the rise
of another regional competitor in an aligned Air Nelson/Eagle Air operation Air
New Zealand acted and on the 16th of September it was announced that
Air New Zealand had bought Eagle Air and a half share in Air Nelson. It was
also announced that it was relinquishing flights to Hokitika, Westport and some
of its Nelson-Christchurch and Nelson-Wellington flights in favour of Air Nelson. In
announcing the changes Air New Zealand’s chief executive Mr Jim Scott said, "It
no longer makes business sense to operate Fokker Friendships when smaller
aircraft operating higher frequencies better suit the market. Our provincial
services have always been an important part of our operations, but we must adapt
to survive in changing times. What has been the best practice in the past does
not necessarily provide the best solution for the future."
So began Air Nelson’s part in
revolutionising provincial air services in New Zealand.
