A busy start to the year for Barrier Air

 

Catching up on news from whilst the blog was on hiatus, Barrier Air have had a busy start to the year

In early 2026 Air Chathams leased Barrier Air Cessna Caravans to operate some of their flights between Whakatāne-Auckland while their Saabs were on maintenance. The first of these flights was flown by Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-SDG on the 27th of January 2027 operating GBA824 from Auckland to Whakatāne and the return flight, GBA829. 18 return flights were operated in total, the last being again operated by ZK-SDG on the 18th of February as GBA820 from Auckland to Whakatāne and the return flight, GBA823.

This pattern of Barrier Air aircraft head south was repeated in 2026. On the 10th of February 2026  Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-SDB flew the morning Kerikeri to Auckland service before flying a return service to Great Barrier Island. It then flew to Queenstown for service with True South, flying its first flights between Queenstown and Milford Sound on the 11th of February 2026.

The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX, ZK-SDA, left the Barrier Air fleet at the end of February 2026. It operated its final Barrier Air flights on the 27th of February flying from Auckland to Kerikeri as GB515 and returning as GB516. It flew to Tauranga on the 6th of March on pre-departure maintenance returning to Auckland on the 17th. On the 31st of March 2026 it flew to Norfolk Island and on to the Gold Coast having been sold to an Australian owner. 

The USA/Israel attacks on Iran that commenced on the 28th of February 2024 placed an immediate burden on New Zealand's airlines. On the 24th of March Barrier Air's Grant Bacon told  Barrier Air's chief executive, Grant Bacon, told Radio New Zealand, The Middle East had prompted sharp price shocks for regional airlines - sometimes with very little notice. "After receiving a 95 cents per litre increase [last week] we have now also received a 12 cent increase... so it just goes on and on. Funny enough, I've just received another notification email from BP stating potentially more price rises. I'm too scared to open it," he said. "The issue is we sell tickets months in advance and we price in fuel and we consider perhaps that the fuel may increase, it may decrease and it's a game of averages. But when you're talking a 60 percent move in one bound it is certainly difficult to cope with." Barrier Air chief  raised fares, but Grant Bacon the increases still did not cover the “huge cost” of fuel.