Barrier Air @ WTZ

 

I don't get to do much plane spotting these days but on 10 May 2026 I was able to catch Barrier Air at Whitianga on its return flight from and to Auckland. On duty was Cessna 208 Grand Caravan ZK-SDG.

I hoped to catch the Barrier Air flight on Monday but there wasn't one, the airline reducing the schedule to match the demand especially over the lean winter months... A asked Barrier Air's CEO Grant Bacon and he told me, While this oil crisis plays out we just want to fly less and fly full. This mode may well serve as a new normal for a lot of regional operators. The new focus is simply having no seats spare with seats priced so as not to make a loss. At the same time we want to preserve every asset, that is preserving airframe hours and engine hours in flights that are full both ways. Sadly, airlines that accept a 70% load factor simply won’t survive in the new normal. A more full schedule will return in the dummer

A lot of Barrier Air's operations, in particular to Great Barrier and Whitianga, are very seasonal. So while 5 Caravans are busy over the summer only 3 are needed during the winter, hence leases to South Island operators in the lean seasons.

I find the comments on social media about fares fascinating... people wanting cheap fares despite the massive price increases our airlines have experienced from Covid days in terms of supply chains, increased regulatory costs and now fuel costs as they have to face the various economic storms of our times. 

To Barrier Air and our other regionals, kia kaha!