New Schedule for Whakatāne

 

Air Chathams has released a new schedule for its Auckland to Whakatāne service. Currently only 6 flights a week are being offered, with a mix of morning and afternoon departures, Sun-Fri. 

The new schedule still sees 6 flights a week, however weekday flights will now operate in the middle of the day (in between morning and afternoon Whanganui flights)

Air Chathams released the following email:

Thanks once again for being an Air Chathams passenger and helping us keep regional New Zealand connected.

We wanted to quickly update you on changes to our Whakatāne – Auckland route from 21 September 2026.

New Whakatāne schedule from 21 September 2026

The changes mainly affect flights Monday – Friday. The new standard schedule will be:

From Whakatāne

Monday – Friday: flight departs 1:15pm

Saturday: no flights

Sunday: flight departs 5pm (changing to 4.45pm from January 2027)

From Auckland

Monday – Friday: flight departs at 12:00pm

Saturday: no flights

Sunday: flight departs at 3.45pm (changing to 3.30pm from January 2027)

As always, our website is the best place to find flight times for a particular date.

Why you’re seeing these changes

Alongside several other factors, rising fuel costs continue to impact our operations. These changes will help us operate more efficiently, strengthen the long-term sustainability of the airline, and put us in a better place to serve our destinations.

We know that any schedule change will have an impact on people. If our service is important to you, you can help keep it sustainable by letting your local council know. Regional aviation is a partnership between local and central government and airlines like ours. If you’d like to see your air connections grow, tell your local representatives why they matter to you!

From Whakatāne to… anywhere!

Don’t forget that thanks to our new interline agreement with Air New Zealand, flights from Whakatāne can now connect to anywhere in the Air New Zealand domestic network with one check-in and one bag drop. Please use the Air New Zealand website to book a flight that has a final destination beyond Auckland.

Thanks again for flying Air Chathams. Your support means everything to our team.

When WHK upgraded to the Saab and we dropped to two flights a day at awkward times, it started to make things difficult for the loyal business/commuter customers. A few years back when Air Chathams were flying the Metroliner on a business/commuter friendly schedule, it could be hard to even get a seat on the first flight out, last flight in. With only one flight a day now, the largest users of the WHK airlink, the business community, are now having to fly out of ROT or TRG. - LF