On Friday evening I had a chat with Island Aviation's CEO Chris Sattler. The Island Aviation's three aircraft have been busy over the summer. The Waiheke Island-based operation has a three-fold focus involving the regular service from North Shore to Great Barrier Island and the regular air taxi services between Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island, North Shore, Coromandel and Ardmore, tourist package flights to and from Waiheke Island and more recently marine life survey flights.
The summer started early for Island Aviation with the lease of Britten Norman Islander ZK-SFK to Stewart Island Flights while one of their Islanders was on heavy maintenance. The Islander returned to North Shore in time for the busy summer which has seen traffic build on the core North Shore-Great Barrier route and the associated Waiheke Island-Great Barrier air taxi route.
A developing component of Island Aviation's business is aerial survey of marine life. Over the summer Island Aviation has been operating 50-65km offshore flying at some 600 feet using BN Islander ZK-PIZ.
Prior to that Island Aviation was chartered by a global TV network looking for false killer whales. and another project to detect Manta Rays in the wider Hauraki Gulf. The aircraft were able to spot 18 Manta's during a single day survey. False killer whales are a species of oceanic dolphin,black or dark grey in color, with a slender body and an elongated, tapered head without a beak. They have a sickle-shaped dorsal fin and narrow, short, pointed flippers with a distinctive bulge on the leading edge.
Over the past two weeks, Island Aviation had the privilege of supporting a multi-agency, multi-national survey project focused on endangered marine species off the coasts of Aotea/Great Barrier, Coromandel, and the Bay of Plenty.
This has been an incredible experience for our pilots and crew, offering a unique opportunity to observe a vast array of marine life. Among the species spotted were Blue, Sperm, and Pilot whales, various types of Beaked whales, Manta and Devil Rays, whale sharks, and a wide range of dolphins, some of which were seen interacting with false killer whales. Additionally, there were frequent sightings of Sunfish, as well as numerous shark species and popular game fish.
Our twin-engine Britten Norman Islander aircraft, equipped with specialized "bubble windows," allowed us to observe the marine life both directly beneath the aircraft and laterally, enabling us to cover a vast area and maximize the chances of spotting and recording the animals being targeted by the survey.
Although we regularly encounter marine life during our flights to and from Great Barrier Island and Waiheke, the variety and the concentrated effort to verify and record these sightings was truly remarkable. As one of our pilots shared, "This was the best flying experience ever!"
While the mobile phone pictures attached offer a glimpse of the experience, they hardly do justice to the incredible sight from the sky.
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| Alderman Islands |
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| Happy Flight Crew and survey team |
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| Large pod of dolphins |
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| Long-finned pilot whales |
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| Sperm whales in formation |
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| A whale blowing |
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| Whale shark |
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| White Island steaming |
Over the last few weeks while Islander PIZ was being used on marine-life survey, Island Aviation leased additional capacity from Sunair in the form of Cessna 172 ZK-DPN. The Sunair 172 is a 150hp model as opposed to Island Aviations' 180hp model Cessna 172 ZK-RNX. ZK-DPN has only been used on flights with a couple of passengers. On the 20th of March 2025 it flew to Waiheke Island doing a Waiheke Island scenic later that day. It then positioned from Waiheke Island to North Shore operating Island Aviation's return North Shore - Great Barrier Island morning services on the 21st of March 2025. It did a final Waiheke Island-Great Barrier Island air taxi flight on the 28th of March followed by a Waiheke Island scenic on the 28th of March before returning to Tauranga on the 5th of April 2025.
Thanks to Chris for the chat and pics...
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