Jane Davies recalls the "little garden shed" south of Picton that used to offer a flight to Wellington. She was just 12-years-old when she first flew with Sounds Air from Koromiko to Wellington three decades ago. Sounds Air had just one airplane, run by Cliff and Diane Marchant in 1987, flying people across Cook Strait. "I remember at the time there was a sign up that said fares were only $29 more expensive than a ferry ride," Davies chuckled. Davies was one of many reflecting on how the airline had grown as the company celebrates its 30th birthday on Friday. "The changes over the years are just amazing," Davies said. "Just seeing that growth in the teams on the ground in Blenheim and Nelson and Wellington, and the number of pilots. They used to all know me by name, now there's so many pilots I haven't even met yet. It's such a cool little company." When Sounds Air managing director Andrew Crawford took over in 2003 the airline had a 12-seater Cessna Caravan flying one route, between Picton and Wellington, and three pilots sharing the work. "The plan was always to grow it but where it was going to grow to, who could have known?" Crawford said. "Now we have 70 staff in total, grown from eight staff when I started. We've got 26 pilots now. But in 10 years time, we might look back and go, 'gosh, we were so small'." Branching out with flights to Westport, Taupō, Napier and Paraparaumu were milestones for Crawford, as was the purchase of the nine-seater Pilatus PC-12. He was also pleased with the Blenheim to Christchurch flights launched last year, three months before the Kaikōura earthquake, and picking up the route dropped in Air New Zealand's regional restructure, he said. Crawford was considering putting larger planes on that route after high demand, and expected to know if it was feasible in January, he said. Christchurch business owner Jack Thompson was one of the passengers taking advantage of the new route, flying to Blenheim for work instead driving six hours on the alternate highway. "I can fly in the morning and out in the afternoon, it's perfect. And there's only eight to 10 seats so there's not a lot of people to make the plane late. You just walk on and walk off, there's no messing around." Flying with a locally-owned operator was a conscious choice, Thompson said. "I think it's an amazing service. And they're a locally-owned business, that's why I support them. They're taking on the big boys and it's not easy. I respect that. "You can see into the cockpit and the pilots talk to you. Even the baggage handlers say, 'gidday, how was your flight?'" Blenheim business coach Chris Walbran frequently flew to Wellington with Sounds Air over the last decade. "We've watched them grow. They're an excellent business," Walbran said. "In all these years there were only three days they couldn't get us across the gap [Cook Strait], because of the weather. Sometimes they have to vary their flight path to work around the weather, but at least you get there. The pilots adjust their flying to the conditions and they fly for passenger comfort. They're very skilled." But it was the "very friendly staff" that kept Walbran loyal, he said. "They're always willing to go out of their way. And we have nice banter." Crawford said the company's best advertising was "word of mouth". "Customers like Chris [Walbran] have been flying with us for as long as I've been here. So our motto is, keep those customers happy, and hopefully they will tell their friends. We provide a service that makes it impossible for them not to tell their friends how good it was." He credited the staff for the company's longevity. "It makes you very proud, obviously. It's been hard work getting here but it's only been done through the support of our fantastic staff. "Thank you to all our loyal passengers and staff for great support for 30 years and I can't wait to see what the future brings."
Source : https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/99363738/happy-birthday-sounds-air-theyre-taking-on-the-big-boys
My profile on Soundsair can be found here:
and on Sounds Air here:
