Originair resumed flights to Napier with British Aerospace Jetstream 32 ZK-JSJ flying from Nelson to Napier as OGN 621 and the return flight OGN 654. The flights will normally operate on Fridays and Sundays. A Palmerston North-Napier-Hamilton service was due to start next week but with Hamilton in Level 3 one presumes this sector has been paused.
On the 28th of September 2018 Originair commenced services between New Plymouth and Napier. At that time the airline did not have its own operator's certificate and services were operated by air2there. This company's failure grounded Originar and Originair services ended on the weekend of the 30 November-3 December 2018. Since then the airline has gained it own operator's certificate and has gone from strength to strength despite the frustrations of Covid.
The local newspaper, the Hawkes Bay Today, reported today's return as following...
Napier officially has a new airline in town. Nelson-based Originair touched down on the tarmac at Hawke's Bay Airport on Friday at 1pm in its first commercial flight to the region, direct from Nelson. The small airline has chartered flights to Napier in the past - including for a Ranfurly Shield match earlier this month - but has now begun operating scheduled flights in and out of the airport. That includes direct flights to Nelson and also flights to Hamilton and Palmerston North. "I am so excited to see the arrival of Originair at Hawke's Bay Airport today," Hawke's Bay Airport chief executive Stuart Ainslie said. "We are all feeling the impacts of the pandemic, particularly the aviation industry. "Making it easier for Hawke's Bay people to connect with friends and family in Nelson, Hamilton and Palmerston North helps Hawke's Bay Airport recover from those impacts but it also bolsters the people and economy of our region." The flight was welcomed with water cannons from the airport's fire service and a specially-designed cake which was cut to mark the occasion. Air New Zealand is the main airline which operates out of Hawke's Bay Airport while Jetstar stopped flying to the region in 2019. Originair chief executive Robert Inglis previously told Hawke's Bay Today there was demand for a Napier to Nelson direct service. "There are a lot of similarities between our two areas and the message we are receiving is people would like to be able to make a direct flight for a long weekend." No other airline offers a direct service between the two regions. Originair has a small fleet of 18-seat Jetstream planes and offers chartered and scheduled flights.
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| Originair BAe Jetstream 32 ZK-JSJ arrives at Napier on 22 October 2021. from the Hawke's Bay Airport Facebook page |
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