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Air
North had its origins in the Rotorua Aero Club. The development of the company
was recounted by Ian Palmer in NZ Wings in August 1976 who said, "The idea
of forming some sort of airline really came more as an outcome of circumstances
than as a brain wave by anyone. We were getting a fair amount of charter work
after taking over some of the licences of James Aviation (Rotorua) Ltd so it
was decided to separate this facet from the rest of the club activities and
form Rotorua Aerial Charter. We were getting good work from all sorts of people
- forest fire patrols, scenic work, photography, plus a lot of passenger
charters so the proposition was more or less forced onto us. But the commercial
flying grew faster than the club flying, so it was decided to form a company to
take over the commercial activities which we had provided in the name of
Rotorua Aerial Charter. The club committee asked me to organise the company,
and in March 1969 (seven years after I joined the aero club!). Geyserland
Airways commenced operation as a private company.” Shareholding in Geyserland
Airways Limited was initially held by Ian Palmer, Fred Ladd and Sel
Goldsworthy. Palmer had a majority shareholding and it was very much ‘his’
company. Fred Ladd sold out after a relatively short time. Ian Palmer continue
his account; “Initially our fleet consisted of an Aero Commander 500 ZK-CWP and
two single engine Cessnas, including a floatplane. Geyserland Airways
progressed well over the next few years, and we added two Grand Commanders (ZK-DBQ
and ZK-DHF) and another Cessna 185 floatplane to the fleet. But already we
could see conflict arising with the varying nature of the work we were doing. I
was more keen on the passenger services, which were becoming regular, but this
wasn't really synonymous with our floatplane operations, nor the jobs for the
various Government departments that we were still doing. So in 1972 I formed
Air North Ltd.”
On
the 30th of May 1972, the Air Services Licensing Authority approved
the scheduled operations of Geyserland Airways Ltd being passed to a new subsidiary
company, Air North Limited. This was a limited liability company formed by two shareholders,
Ian Palmer and Selwyn Goldsworthy. The initial capital of the company was
$10,000 of which Palmer held 9000 shares and Goldsworthy 1000 shares. Both men
also held the shares of Geyserland Airways Ltd in similar proportion.
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| NZ Herald, 13 December 1973 |
At
this time the company was operating two routes, Rotorua to Auckland and Kaikohe
with a minimum frequency of six return flights each week, with the right to set
down or pick up passengers, as needed, at Kawerau and Matamata and from Rotorua
to Gisborne with a minimum frequency of six return flights each week with the
right to set down or pick up passengers at Kawerau if traffic was offering. Air
North was initially licensed to operate one Aero Commander 500, ZK-CWP (c/n 500-842-97),
and one Aero Commander 680FL Grand Commander ZK-DBQ (c/n 680FL-1330-15). Geyserland
Airways continued to operate one Grand Commander on charter work and this
aircraft, ZK-DHF (c/n 680FL-1429-71), was also used as a backup aircraft for
Air North.
 |
| Aero Commander 680 ZK-DHF at Rotorua on 21 June 1973 |
In
July 1974 Air North and Geyserland Airways applied to the Air Services
Licensing Authority to further divide the Geyserland Airways and Air North.
Geyserland Airways took over all the single-engined aircraft services while all
the twin engined charter, air taxi and scheduled work passed to Air North.This
enabled Air North to operate air charter and air taxi services from Rotorua,
Galatea Kawerau, Whakatane, Matamata, Taupo and Turangi with an authorised
fleet of one Aero Commander 500 and one Grand Commander 680.
Later
in 1974 Air North became involved in forming another aviation company when it
came together with the Auckland charter operator Akarana Air to establish Norak
Engineering at Ardmore to carry out maintenance on both company's twin engine
aircraft.
Disaster
struck the company on the 23rd of March 1975. Ian Palmer was flying
Grand Commander 680 ZK-DHF to Cincinnati for servicing. While on the leg to
Hawaii a fuel flow problem with the ferry kit forced the aircraft down in the
sea short of Hawaii. After making a successful escape from the sinking
aircraft, Ian Palmer spent about half an hour in the open sea before being
rescued by the US Coast Guard.
 |
| one Aero Commander 680FL Grand Commander ZK-DHF at Tauranga on 1 March 1975 |
The
airline’s early years from its passing from Geyserland Airways to the mid-70s
were good years for Air North with passenger numbers improving each year.
Year Passengers
Carried
1971/72 9968 Increase 47% over 1970/71
1972/73 10752 Increase 8% over 1971/72
1973/74 14155 Increase 35% over 1973/73
1974/75 14936 Increase 5.5% over 1973/74
So, in
1975 Air North sought to extend its route structure by adding a Gisborne-Napier-
Palmerston North service and a Palmerston North-Taupo-Rotorua service with both
routes operating with a minimum frequency of 6 return flights each week. The
company planned for the aircraft to leave Rotorua for Gisborne at 8.00 am
before flying down the East Coast to Palmerston North and then up the centre of
the North Island back to Rotorua. In the afternoon the reverse was flown with
the aircraft arriving back in Rotorua at 5.45 pm.
The
company was also sought permission to add a de Havilland 114 Heron to its
fleet. The Heron was chosen in an endeavour to reduce operating costs. In its
application the company stated it cost approximately $30 per hour to repair and
maintain a Grand Commander with its geared or supercharged engines while the comparable
cost for the Aero Commander 500, with its simple engine, was only $12.00 per
hour. The four engined-Heron used a similar engine to the smaller Aero
Commander and despite the fuel and maintenance costs of a four engined aircraft
the company was confident that its higher passenger capacity would make it a
more economical aircraft.
Pending
the arrival of the Heron the Gisborne-Napier-Palmerston North-Taupo-Rotorua
service began on 29th of September 1975 using Piper Pa23-250 Aztec ZK-DUB
(c/n 27-3528), hired from Bell-Air. In November 1976 de Havilland DH114 Heron
1B ZK-BBM (c/n 14011) arrived from Fiji and entered service the following month,
initially being used on the Rotorua-Auckland-Kaikohe service. The
Rotorua-Auckland service was Air North’s most profitable service, with up to
five flights a day flown on the route.
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| Aero Commander 500 ZK-CWP at Palmerston North, the airline's southern most destination, on 30 January 1976. |
Air
North was very much Ian Palmer’s airline. Ian learnt to fly with the Air
Training Corps, and was in the RNZAF from 1949 to 1956. Moving to Rotorua he
worked for James Aviation on scenic
and charter flights and for six years he was a topdresser pilot for James. In
his spare time he ran the Rotorua Aero Club which he restarted and was the
commander of the local Air Training Corps. He then became chief instructor for
the Rotorua Aero Club and led the development of Rotorua Aerial Charter and
Geyserland Airways. Under Ian Palmer’s ownership Air North was very much a
family affair. The April 1976 issue of Wings reported, “Ian is the father of
three burly sons, all of whom play some part in the day-to-day running of Air
North. Ian's second son, John, runs the Rotorua airport office of Air North and
looks after the airline's accounts. John is a pilot as well, with a rating on
the Aero Commander 500 and with plans to obtain his CPL and an instrument
rating. His younger brother Keith is the other full-time Air North man, running
the Auckland office from where he handles all the bookings and despatching from
that end. The third son, Brian, helps Ian's wife, Joyce, run the Rotorua town
office when he's home from university.”
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| NZ Herald, 28 July 1976 |
In May
1976 following NAC’s reintroduction of a direct Palmerston North-Rotorua
service the Air North sought approval to suspend its Palmerston
North-Taupo-Rotorua service. The frequency on the Rotorua-Kawerau-Gisborne and Gisborne-Napier-Palmerston
North services was also reduced from six return flights per week to five return
flights per week.
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| An old NAC Heron returns - ZK-BBM in its new Air North colour scheme at Ardmore on 5 January 1976. |
Earlier
in 1976 NAC had announced it was withdrawing from some of its uneconomic
provincial services and Air North saw this as an opportunity to expand. The
company sought Air Services Licensing Authority to include Whakatane, Hamilton
and Whangarei, when traffic was offering, as stopovers on its existing services
and to also introduce a New Plymouth-Hamilton–Rotorua route. The latter would
feed into the Rotorua-Gisborne service. In detailing its plans Air North proposed to commence and terminate
its early morning Rotorua-Auckland and return evening service at Whakatane
thereby retaining a same day return service to Whakatane people. Air North’s
proposal to replace NAC’s Hamilton-Gisborne service was for a New Plymouth-Hamilton-Rotorua-Whakatane-Gisborne-Napier
service. The aircraft would leave New Plymouth at 8.20 a.m. to reach Napier by
11.50 am. The return service would leave Napier at 2.00 p.m. to arrive back at
New Plymouth at 5.20 p.m. The Licensing Authority ruled that Air North's
application for the sector New Plymouth to Hamilton provided no independent
evidence as to demand and in the absence of such evidence that part of Air
North's application was not granted. The application to include Tauranga and Whangarei
as stopping places not granted. The rest of the application was granted and
Whakatane was added as a stopover from 5 June 1976.
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| Timetable 28 April 1976 |
Sadly Whakatane did not meet the company’s
expectations and the service from their averaged only one or two passengers per trip and the Heron
Air North originally used was replaced by the Aero Commanders on the
Whakatane-Rotorua sector, much to the chagrin of the Whakatane town authorities.
 |
| Aero Commander 680 ZK-DBQ at Ardmore on 6 March 1976. |
There were also problems with the
Hamilton-Rotorua-Gisborne service. In October 1976, Air Gisborne Limited
commenced operating direct air taxi services on a timetabled basis between
Gisborne and Hamilton using aircraft leased from Air Central. Air Gisborne
offered two return services on week days and one return service on Saturdays
and Sundays and Air North’s passenger numbers between Hamilton and Gisborne immediately
experienced a sharp downturn, people preferring Air Gisborne’s direct flights
at more suitable times. To counter this Air North was given approval to operate
direct flights on the 8th of March 1977.
Back on the 5th of July 1976 the Licensing Authority gave Air North
approval to add a second Heron to its fleet and de Havilland DH114 Heron 1B
ZK-EJM (c/n 14005) arrived in September
1976. In addition the Authority approved Tokoroa replacing Matamata as a
stopping place, when traffic was offering, on Air North’s Rotorua-Auckland
services. This gave Tokoroa connections to Auckland allowing a full day in
Auckland, as well a service as to Kawerau, Whakatane, Gisborne, Napier and
Palmerston North. The Tokoroa stopover was not a great success and on 15
November the schedule was changed with the only a 10.45am departure from Tokoroa.
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| The second Heron, ZK-EJM at Ardmore on 26 December 1976. |
Meanwhile, in February 1977 Air South Pacific
Limited moved to take over Air North. Air South Pacific had been formed on the 2nd of April 1974 for the purpose of applying for an air service licence to run
an air safari around New Zealand using a Beech King Air. The company was owned
by Christchurch lawyer, John Rutherford, and a Rotorua surgeon, Arthur Hackett.
Ian Palmer, the then Managing Director of Air North, remained with the company
as chief pilot. On 21
March 1977 the licence was transferred to Air South Pacific Limited.
The takeover did not include all the Air
North fleet. One of the Herons, ZK-BBM was transferred to the new company while
Ian Palmer retained the other Heron, ZK-EJM, and the Aero Commander, ZK-CWP forming
Rotorua Airlines (1977) Ltd to own these aircraft. Rotorua Airlines then
leased these aircraft to the “new” Air North. The Grand Commander, ZK-DBQ, was
sold to Akarana Air in May 1977. Air South Pacific changed its name to Air North Limited on the 2nd of June 1977 enabling the air service to be continued in its own name.
 |
| Repainted as part of the sale to Air South Pacific, Heron ZK-BBM in its striking colour scheme at Rotorua on 8 August 1977. |
Disaster struck the company on the 9th
of May 1977 when the second Heron, ZK-EJM, had a landing incident at Ardmore.
The aircraft touched down far down the runway and swerved to the right when the
left brake failed. It crossed a drainage ditch and came to rest with serious damage
to the nose gear, propellers and both wings. Although the intention was to
repair the aircraft, it lay derelict and was later broken up. A replacement de Havilland DH114 Heron 1B, ZK-EKO (c/n 14044),
subsequently arrived in New Zealand in June 1977.
 |
| The replacement for ZK-EJM, DH Heron ZK-EKO at Christchurch on 10 September 1977 |
By mid-1977 the company was struggling. The Rotorua-Kawerau-Whakatane
extension and Auckland-Kaikohe service were proving to be uneconomic and the
company was keen to develop night courier and freight flights when its aircraft
were otherwise not utilised.
The Auckland-Kaikohe service experienced a drop in
passenger loadings following Mount Cook Airlines’ introduction of its Hawker
Siddeley 748s into Kerikeri in March 1977. To make matters worse, with Kerikeri
becoming a private airfield Air North were prevented from using it. This was
especially problematic for the airline during winter when Kaikohe’s grass
airfield was often unserviceable due to water on the aerodrome or soft ground
conditions. On these occasions the Air North service had to divert to Whangarei
and the passengers were taken to and from Kaikohe by ground transport.
Subsequently, the company applied to reduce the frequency to four flights a
week and this came into effect in late August 1977.
 |
| NZ Herald, 2 December 1977 |
In late 1976 and early 1977 Kwikasair Limited had
engaged Air North for a number of night freight flights between Christchurch
and Auckland. To offset its loss making passenger services Air North sought
contracts with a number of freight and courier companies for night freight services
from Auckland to Wellington and Christchurch. Before the hearing, however, Air
North merged with Auckland charter company Akarana Air which already had an
extensive night courier service. Air North advised the Licensing Authority that
much of Akarana's business related to the flying of courier freight at night
and their aircraft were not utilised to any great extent during the day and
that these aircraft would provide excellent backup for Air North’s scheduled
services. The proposed merger envisaged that the two trading companies would
continue as totally owned subsidiaries of a holding company and the licences
and the assets of the trading companies would remain. In other words, the
management of the two companies would be joined in a holding company which
would administer the two trading companies. The two companies then set about
adding each other’s fleet to their own licence.
The
company’s woes continued. In August 1977 the company applied to sever both the Gisborne-Napier-Palmerston North service
and the Gisborne-Hamilton route. The Company cited an average of only one
passenger per trip on the Palmerston North service which was losing the Company
at least $1,000 per week. The continuance of the Air Gisborne/Air Central air
taxi service on the Gisborne-Hamilton route made Air North’s own direct service
“completely uneconomic” with an average of only one passenger per flight. The
Company was also finding its maintenance costs on the Heron aircraft were much higher
than was hoped for, adding to the economic woes. The Authority gave Air North
approval to suspend its Palmerston North service from the 1st of
September 1977 and Air Gisborne and Air Central were prevailed upon to cease
joint air taxi operations between Napier and Hamilton. By late 1977 Air North
was short of aircraft and from the 7th of December 1977, Air
North entered into an agreement with Air
Central to 'wet hire' one of their Cessna 402 aircraft to operate the daily
return Gisborne-Hamilton service.
In
January 1978 Air North’s John Rutherford wrote to the Licensing Authority
advising them that they intended to replace the 10-seat Grand Commander 680 on
their licence with an ATL98 Carvair with seating for 10 passengers and to
replace the 16-seat de Havilland Heron, with a General Dynamics Convair 340
with seating for 16 passengers. At the same time Akarana Air wrote to the
Authority advising them that they too intended to replace the 10-seat Grand
Commander 680 in their licence with an ATL98 Carvair with seating for 10 passengers
and to replace the 15-seat Beech 99 on their licence with a General Dynamics
Convair 340 with seating for 16 passengers. John Rutherford told the Authority
that “in the present economic climate where scheduled passenger traffic is
moribund a freight supplement is essential to keep an appropriate cash flow.
Further freight activities are clearly in the public interest in view of the
withdrawal of coastal shipping services and increasing rail costs particularly
in areas not directly served by NAC.” He further stated that a financial
reconstruction of the company involving in excess of $2 million was underway
and that “the new aircraft will be put into service as soon as all appropriate
operations, airworthiness and type documentation is completed.”
Previously,
in September 1977, Haulaways Corporation Ltd. lodged an application with the
Air Services Licensing Authority as trustees for a company to be formed for air
charter and air taxi services from Paraparaumu, Christchurch, Nelson and
Wellington using two Carvair aircraft. The hearing was subsequently adjourned
so the applicant could ascertain whether
the objectors to the proposal, including Safe Air and New Zealand Railways, could
undertake the carriage of cars for the Haulaways Corporation. The application
was withdrawn and when no objector was able to provide a satisfactory service Haulaways
Corporation entered into negotiations with Air North and Akarana Air with a
view to taking over the shareholding of both companies. This happened in January
1978 and the replacement aircraft notified by Air North and Akarana Air were
ordered and the company was committed to the contracts which were firm orders.
The
Licensing Authority, however, decided that the notice given by Air North
Limited and Akarana Air Limited, if valid, would permit a practice which would
enable the licensees to increase freight capacity without establishing
necessity or desirability for the increase to the likely detriment of other
licensed operators and it is in the public interest that the replacement
aircraft should be substantially the same maximum payload capacity as the
replaced machine. This, the Authority said, would prevent a substitution of an
aircraft which has "equivalent seating capacity", but a cargo
capacity considerably greater than the machine being replaced. An appeal was
made to the High Court who ultimately confirmed the decision of the Licensing
Authority that the notice given by Air North was not effective to bring about a
replacement of its two light aircraft with two heavy aircraft.
The company was increasingly finding its financial state more difficult. It failed to pay Air Central for the use of their Cessna 402 which operated the Gisborne-Hamilton route and so on the 13th of February 1978 Air Central applied to operate scheduled services from Gisborne to Hamilton. The application was opposed by Air North. At the hearing on 14 and 15 March a volume of complaints were heard as to the manner in which Air North has carried on its operations.
Despite these difficulties the airline continued operating throughout 1978. On the 19th of June 1978 Air North changed its name to Nationwide Air Limited and this marks the beginning of the final chapter of the Air North story.
For the Nationwide Air post see :
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