Barrier Air @ the Barrier on Saturday

On the Saturday morning of Labour weekend, the 22nd of Cotober 2022, Barrier Air's Cessna 208B Grand Caravans ZK-SDB and ZK-SDE were operating into Great Barrier Island's Claris airport while ZK-SDC and ZK-SDG were parked up. 

ZK-SDB back tracking to the terminal after arriving from Auckland

ZK-SDB on the taxi to the terminal

ZK-SDB in front of the terminal

ZK-SDB on the left and ZK-SDG on the right

ZK-SDC was parked up

ZK-SDC again

ZK-SDE between flights from and to Auckland

The newest Grand Caravan, ZK-SDG was parked up 

ZK-SDG again

ZK-SDB boarding with ZK-SDG behind

Waiheke Wings' inter-island air service

 

When thinking about this post, I thought there are actually quite a number of inter-island air services in New Zealand. However, if you consider the North and South Islands as mainland services, there are only two inter-island air services operated in New Zealand, Air Chathams' service between Chatham and Pitt Island and Waiheke Wings service between Waiheke and Great Barrier Islands.

Waiheke Wings is not the first to operate this route... Waiheke Airservices and Waiheke Air previously this route. 

Waiheke Wings is their successor and began services in December 2018. The company operates one Cessna 172, ZK-RNX, and offers air taxi and air transfer services from Waiheke Island around the Hauraki Gulf with more regular services to Great Barrier Island and Ardmore. The company also does an increasing number of scenic flights around Waiheke Island and further out in the Gulf.

Talking to owner Chris Sattler about who uses the service he said there a number of Waiheke Islanders who have houses on Great Barrier Island as well as a certain amount of business traffic between the two Islands. The Cessna 172 has a 180hp engine which means it can comfortably carry 3 passengers and their luggage but that a larger aircraft is needed. To that end a Britten Norman Islander, ZK-SFK, will be based at Waiheke Island from later in the year and will offer a daily scheduled service from Waiheke Island to Great Barrier Island. 

Being on Waiheke Island for the weekend I saw flights offered to Great Barrier Island on the Waiheke Wings Facebook page and decided to try out the company's inter island air service. So with pilot Jacob Taylor I set off on a morning flight to Great Barrier Island.

Waiheke Wings' Cessna 172 ZK-RNX at Waiheke Island aerodrome on 22 October 2022

The Waiheke aerodrome is on a ridge top and from the hangars there is a taxi around to the runway

Lining up...

Romeo November X-Ray rolling 35 Waiheke

Straight to the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula

Onetangi of the left hand side

Coming up to Thumb / Te Patu Point, the northern tip of Great Barrier Island

Coming up to the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula - the Moehau Range

Coming up on Port Jackson

Cape Colville on the left of Port Jackson, Kaiiti Point on the right

From the left, Square Top Island, The Pinnacles and Suger Loaf.

Looking backwards for a nicer view of Port Jackson

Very hazy crossing over the Great Barrier Island which had some murky cloud about

Looking over to Tryphena Harbour

Blind Bay

Kaitoke Beach with Great Barrier Island's Claris airport

Kaitoke Beach and Pitokuku Island

Kaitoke Beach and Pitokuku Island

Looking north to Awana Bay

Finals Runway 10 at Claris

A couple of Barrier Air's Grand Caravans parked at Claris airport... especially delighted to see ZK-SDG their new one.

Waiheke Wings' Cessna 172 ZK-RNX at Claris on 22 October 2022

Waiheke Island on Saturday

It was a beautiful morning at Waiheke Island today and I was delighted to capture all the locals as well as a couple of visitors...

Waiheke Wings' Cessna 172 ZK-RNX at Waiheke Island aerodrome on 22 October 2022

De Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk ZK-TAZ had to moved out of the hangar to allow the Cub out... taken at Waiheke Island aerodrome on 22 October 2022

Piper J3C-65 ZK-YLO was outside for some engine run ups at Waiheke Island aerodrome on 22 October 2022

Visiting Waiheke Island aerodrome on 22 October 2022 was Piper PA28 Cherokee 235 ZK-CEH...

...and Eurocopter EC 130 B4 ZK-IFC

Now Boarding for Great Barrier Island

 

Barrier Air's newest Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, ZK-SDG, entered service today. It's first flight was GB831, a freight flight from Auckland to Great Barrier Island. It's first passenger flight was GB705 to Great Barrier Island.

Barrier Air's Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-SDG boarding at Auckland for its first passenger flight on 21 October 2022

Being a long weekend Barrier Air have been flat out today with all five Caravans being used to operate 22 flights between Auckland and Great Barrier Island with a North Shore service also operated.

End of Air Taxi Service

Air Auckland appear to have ceased their regular air taxi services with all details of these flights having been removed their website. 

Air Auckland commenced a daily scheduled passenger service between Ardmore and both Whitianga and Great Barrier Island on the 3rd of December 2018. These services were operated in conjunction with Sunair which had previously operated them. Later the schedule was reduced to just a few flights a week which Air Auckland operated in its own right.

Over the 2021-22 summer Air Auckland operated air taxi flights between Whitianga and .Great Barrier Island service.  

The company is still continuing to operate charter and scenic flights.

Sunair are now the only operator on the Ardmore-Great Barrier Island route.

A full history of Air Auckland's regular services can be found here

 - https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2018/12/air-auckland-hauraki-gulfs-new-airline.html

The Consolidated Operations of Milford Sound Flights

Milford Sound Flights traces its whakapapa back to a number of operators including Mount Cook Airlines, Real Journeys Air Fiordland and Milford Sound Scenic Flights. 

In 1986 Mount Cook Airlines started to rebrand its Queenstown-based general aviation division Milford Sound Flightseeing. With Air New Zealand's takeover of Mount Cook Airline there was less interest in its general aviation divisions and in 1993 Fiordland Travel bought a 25% stake in Mount Cook’s Milford Sound Flightseeing. In 1988 Air New Zealand sold the Mount Cook Airline general aviation fleets at Mount Cook and Queenstown. Fiordland Travel took another 25% of the Queenstown operation with The Helicopter Line taking the other 50%. At this time the name was changed to Tourism Flightseeing. In 2002 The Helicopter Line sold its share and Fiordland Travel took over the whole company and subsequently changed its name to Real Journeys.

On the Milford Sound Scenic Flights side of the family tree Chris Willets established Waterwings Airways in 1983 when he took over Mount Cook Airlines’ loss-making floatplane service at Te Anau. In 1984 Waterwings Airways expanded into land-based aircraft. This enabled expansion into Queenstown and the company started operating on the lucrative Queenstown-Milford Sound route under the name of Milford Sound Scenic Flights. while the holding company remained as Waterwings Airways (Te Anau) Ltd. Christ Willets formally established Milford Sound Scenic Flights Ltd as a company on the 8th of April 1997. He sold this to Mark and Jacqualine Quickfall on the 30th of March 2001. 

The final branch of the family tree is Air Fiordland. Fiordland Experience Group Ltd was registered as a company by Russell Baker and Roy Toms on the 24th of October 1984. Operating as Air Fiordland from Te Anau using a Cessna 185 the company offered tourists scenic flights over Fiordland and into Milford Sound as well as flying trampers, fishermen and hunters to Fiordand’s remote valleys and beaches. By 1986 the company had established a base at Queenstown and joined the competition on the Queenstown-Milford Sound tourist route. On the 14th of October 2008 Mark and Jacqualine Quickfall of Queenstown established Air Fiordland Ltd and this company took over Fiordland Experience Groups “Air Fiordland” operation, the aircraft being registered to the new company on the 29th of May 2009. 

On the 1st of October 2009 Real Journeys Limited and Totally Tourism Limited consolidated their Queenstown based aircraft flight and engineering businesses into a 50/50 Joint Venture into a new company, Milford Sound Flights Ltd. At the time it was announced that the three brands, Air Fiordland, Milford Sound Scenic Flights and Real Journeys - Milford Sound Flightseeing would continue to offer their respective products to the market, unchanged. The company's media release said that, The consolidation of the flight operations is in response to the Department of Conservation’s possible policy to limit the number of landings at Milford Sound, as well as in response to current economic conditions. Dave Hawkey, CEO – Real Journeys, comments “it makes sense both from an environmental and economic perspective to utilise the flightseeing assets in this way. Half the time the planes sit on the ground due to weather conditions at Milford Sound.” Mark Quickfall, owner of Totally Tourism comments, “Putting the Flightseeing businesses together is a good move, while the flightseeing brands continue to compete in the marketplace. Both organisations have similar attitudes towards excellence in customer service and a strong safety culture, so it’s a sensible arrangement.” 

Six months later Aviation News reported that The consolidation in October last year of Queenstown-based Real Journeys' Milford Sound Flightseeing's seven Britten-Norman Islanders with Totally Tourism's Milford Sound Scenic Flights' two Cessna 207s has, over its first summer, been described as a success... Totally Tourism owner Mark Quickfall says consolidating the two companies' fixed-wing resources negates for the time being the need to upgrade the fleet, which could cost around $1 million per aircraft. Milford Sound Flightseeing's Dave Cross says there were times when their 10-seat Islanders were going to Milford Sound with as few as four passengers. Now when a small number of people are booked with them - or if there's a slight over-capacity for the Islanders - it is more cost-efficient to put them in the Cessnas. Mark Quickfall says the objective of both Real Journeys and Totally Tourism to run professional operations will continue, and fairness to both companies will not be affected as each has its own brand and own packages, and that they market to different clienteles and will still compete. Both companies have their own coaches for ground transport into Milford Sound, as well as their own cruise vessels in the fiord... The other flightseeing companies owned by Totally Tourism - Air Fiordland, The Helicopter Line and Wanaka Flightseeing - will continue to operate independently. 

Milford Sound Flights' Britten Norman Islanders ZK-MFN (above) and ZK-ZQN (below) at Milford Sound in January 2013. Notice the three logos on the tail, Real Journeys, Air Fiordland and Milford Sound Scenic Flights.

On the 21st of June 2010 Air Fiordland was taken over by Fly Fiordland Ltd but for some time the Air Fiordland logo remained the sides of the aircraft. 

In June 2012 Milford Sound Flights closed its engineering base at Queenstown Airport contracting the maintenance work to Dunedin’s Flightline Aviation. The base had been established by Southern Scenic Airways some 60 years before and had been operated by big names like Tourist Air Travel and Mount Cook Airlines. Skyline Enterprises chief executive Jeff Staniland said the move is partly caused by a drop-off in Milford flightseeing business but is mainly aimed at reducing a fixed cost. “You look at most businesses, you contract everything out, don’t you, if you can. “You get a specialist provider to provide your services rather than having a big fixed cost infrastructure.” Staniland admits the decision mightn’t have been taken if business had been buoyant. “But I think, logically, you would have got there eventually.” 

One of the engineers made redundant suggested that “The reason, if any, that our engineering costs are perceived to be high is the fact that some of the aircraft are over 40 years old, so they get dearer to look after.” From 2012 Milford Sound Flights started changing its fleet, with the first Cessna 207 ZK-DEW going in 2012 and ZK-LAW in 2013 after being written off in a training flight accident. The first of the Britten Norman Islanders left the fleet in 2013 with ZK-MFN, ZK-MSF, ZK-TSS and ZK-ZQN departing the fleet. 

Cessna 207 ZK-LAW at Queenstown on 21 February 2013

Added to the fleet in 2013 was Cessna 206 ZK-DXZ which joined from related company Wanaka Flightseeing (2006) Ltd. 

Cessna 206 ZK-DXZ, previously operated by Air Safaris, Aspiring Air and Wanaka Flightseeing, in service with Milford Sounds Flights at Milford Sound on the 10th of January 2014. The Air Fiordland logo still remains.

The more important addition was the arrival, also in 2013, of Gippsland GA8 Airvans ZK-MCM and ZK-MCZ and ZK-ZQN. The first Airvan flew into Queenstown from Melbourne as VH-NYD on 5 February 2013. It then underwent New Zealand certification at Flightline in Dunedin becoming ZK-MCM. It entered service on the 30th of April 2013. A Real Journeys' media release said, The new generation GA8 Airvan seats seven passengers and is optimised for passenger viewing with high-wing configuration and panoramic windows. It’s also designed to meet the latest international safety standards. Richard Lauder Chief Executive of Real Journeys, which co-owns Milford Sound Flights with Skyline Enterprises, says the purchase of the new Airvan signals confidence in the continued growth of Queenstown’s tourism market. “We know ‘flightseeing’ into Milford is a compelling offering for visitors, especially when they combine it with a cruise option. This new plane will optimise the customer experience considerably,” says Richard. Jeff Staniland Chief Executive Officer at Skyline Enterprises says the purchase of the Airvan is the first in a series of possible investments to upgrade Milford Sound Flights existing fleet. “The Airvans are also better in an environmental sense, using less fuel and therefore having less environmental impact – so it’s a win win really,” says Jeff.



Milford Sound Flights’ new Airvan passed through its ‘crossing of the guard’ at Queenstown Airport on 30 April 2013 following its first passenger flight.

The arrival of Milford Sound Flights' Gippsland GA-8 Airvans ushered in a new colour scheme. Airvans ZK-MCM (above) and ZK-MCZ (below) at Milford Sound on the 10th of January 2014. The Air Fiordland logo still remains.

 

Three Britten Norman Islanders from Mount Cook Airlines' days... ZK-DBV (above) ZK-MCD (centre) and ZK-MCE (bottom) at Milford Sound on the 10th of January 2014. The Air Fiordland logo still remains.

Further fleet replacement occurred from 2015 with the delivery of Cessna Grand Caravans. The first Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, ZK-MSF, entered service on the 29th of November 2015.

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-MSF departs Queenstown on 29 November 2015 on its first flight to Milford Sound Sound. The Air Fiordland logo did not feature on the Caravans. Photo H Turnbull on Milford Sound Scenic Flights Facebook page.

In Dunedin for maintenance on 27 April 2018 was Milford Sound Flights' first Cessna 208 Grand Caravan, ZK-MSF. 

The arrival of the first Caravan saw the Cessna 206 depart from the fleet. My 2019 three further Caravans had been delivered, ZK-MCI, ZK-MCL and ZK-MCS and this allowed the ex-Mount Cook Airlines' Britten Norman Islanders ZK-DBV, ZK-MCD and ZK-MCE to depart the fleet in 2019. 

From the Milford Sound Scenic Flights Facebook page... It's the end of an era here at Milford Sound Scenic Flights with the sale of the last of our twin engine Britten Norman Islanders! These aircraft were manufactured between 1970-1975, and were purchased brand new by Mount Cook Airlines to fly the Milford route. They became a beloved part of our fleet in the 1990's where they have continued to operate ever since. Fun fact: 4 of our 7 Islander fleet were sold in 2013: ZK-ZQN and ZK-MFN went to Australia and ZK-MSF and ZK-TSS went to Germany, and we are now saying farewell to ZK-DBV, ZK-MCE and ZK-MCD who are off on their new adventure to Fiji! Photo credit: Karl LC & Andy W

Covid-19 impacted severely on the Queenstown flightseeing operators. This led Milford Sound Flights leasing Caravan ZK-MCS to Merlin Labs to become the platform for that company's prototype unmanned freighter aircraft. The New Zealand company is a subsidiary of Boston based Merlin Labs, and the project wants to trial a pilotless freight service between Nelson, Westport and Christchurch... (see https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2020/07/westport-freight-flights.html and https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2020/08/more-on-pilotless-plane-service.html). Merlin Labs later decided they want a Caravan with a Legacy cockpit rather than the ZK-MCS's G1000 cockpit and this aircraft was subsequently sold to Barrier Air and became ZK-SDE.

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-MCS at Queenstown

ZK-MCS at Hamilton with Merlin Labs. Photo : R Currie

Mainstay of Milford Sound Flights' operations are the various options for people wanting to experience the grandeur of the flight to Milford Sound including those who want to fly over the Sound, those who want to fly in and out taking with a cruise on Milford Sound, those who want to take the bus one way and experience the beauty the road trip has to offer and those who have walked the Milford Track and flying out. The company also offers a Mount Cook Fly Heli-Hike Fly package with a return flights from Queenstown to Mount Cook with a heli-hike on the Tasman Glacier. 

Milford Sound Flights' Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-MCI at Queenstown on 13 January 2022. Photo : A Murphy

Milford Sound Flights' Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZK-MSF at Queenstown on 13 January 2022. Photo : A Murphy

Milford Sound Flight's Cessna Grand Caravan ZK-MCL at Paraparaumu on 13 October 2022

Aircraft operated and years operated (Currently operated in bold)

Britten Norman BN2A Islander

ZK-DBV (2009-2018)
ZK-MCD (2009-2018)
ZK-MCE (2009-2019)
ZK-MFN (2009-2013)
ZK-MSF (2009-2013)
ZK-TSS (2009-2013)
ZK-ZQN (2009-2013)

Cessna U206F Stationair

ZK-DXZ (2013-2015) 

Cessna 207 Skywagon

ZK-DEW (2009-2012)
ZK-LAW (2009-2013)

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan

ZK-MCI (2017-current)
ZK-MCL (2016-current)
ZK-MCS (2019-2021)
ZK-MSF (2015-current)

Gippsland GA8 Airvan

ZK-MCM (2013-current)
ZK-MCZ (2013-current)
ZK-ZQN (2013-current)