Bell Air - The Intercity Commuter Airline

UPDATED FEBRUARY 2025

Graham Bell grew up in Whakatane. His vocational guidance counsellor at Whakatane High School discouraged him from going into the Air Force and so he took an electrical apprentice with New Zealand Forest Products. Still having a desire to fly he took flying lessons commuting to Rotorua to learn to fly in a Piper Cub. After gaining his private pilot's licence he flew Tiger Moths for the local glider club building his hour hours up before taking his commercial pilot's licence in 1967. 

In 1968 he founded Bell-Air Executive Air Travel Ltd, a Whakatane-based charter with a capital investment of $8000 and a Cessna 185. The company was granted an air taxi service licence on the 6th of September 1968 and started operating that month with Cessna 185C ZK-CGH (c/n 185-0751). The charter rate for a Whakatane to Auckland and return charter flight was $50! In addition to the general charter work he also did air ambulance work. 

Bell Air's first aircraft, Cessna 185 ZK-CGH photographed at New Plymouth on 8 November 1972

From mid-1969 to mid-1971 Bell Air was also operating Piper PA22-150 Caribbean ZK-BSH.

Graham Bell's employer, the Rangitaiki Plains Dairy company, were very flexible in their employment of the new charter pilot. He worked for them as an electrician but when charter work came along, often for the company, he was given the time to do it. There was not enough work locally to sustain the operation and so at times he flew on venison recovery on the West Coast. Another early source of business was fish spotting. The Ministry of Fisheries were keen to develop the tuna fishery and so he worked fish spotting in the Bay of Plenty, off New Plymouth and he did a survey of southern bluefin off the West Coast. The Cessna 185 was replaced with Cessna 206 ZK-DNG in July 1973.

Cessna 206 ZK-DNG was added to the fleet in July 1973. 
It is seen at Whakatane in November 1973

He was asked to help in the first joint-venture between the Government and the Starkist company of California. The Government chartered the fishing boat the Paramount to prove the "catch-ability" of the fish already sighted round New Zealand waters. 

Very quickly Graham became an expert fish spotter who are able to determine the difference between skip-jack, yellowfin, blue mackerel, jack mackerel and other fish, their behaviour patterns, tonnage assessments and the movement of the tuna - and all this while concentrating on his flying. An article in the New Zealand Herald expanded on art of his fish spotting. The boats depended on his accuracy. Smaller boats can get into difficulty if directed to a school which is too large for their capabilities. Schools must be known to have such density that it is worth the effort of big boats to switch grounds. Bell registers the stability of a school. It is vital for the fleet to know whether the school is moving slowly, tightly, clinging to the surface, erratic in its behaviour, patternless, sounding, surfacing. He may "dive bomb" the school to see how it reacts to noise. And there is a growing requirement for his supervision of the actual fishing. The Paramount heralded the day of the super-seiners 'in New Zealand waters and it was the beginning, too, of international interest in Graham Bell's work. He has done many assignments through the Pacific combining spotting with research evaluation for surface-feeding stocks, relating surface temperatures to the "showing" of fish, noting migratory patterns. In was this expertise that saw him fishing spotting around the Pacific, and as far north as Guam, Japan, Truk and Palau.

Graham Bell was well know in the Bay of Plenty and he developed a relationship with Motiti Island locals who were quite sensitive about who flew into the island. This led to him operating regular flights between Whakatane and Motiti Island. These flights started in 1973. Bell Air's Cessna 206 had the advantage of being able to carry larger loads than the Tauranga Aero Club's smaller aircraft. The Bell Air service offered an advantage for the people of Motiti to fly to Whakatane if they lived there, but it had the disadvantage of being more expensive and less convenient than the Aero Club flights to and from Tauranga. The Bell Air service was perceived as very reliable and professional while the Tauranga Aero Club, with its priority as a training operation, treated the Motiti flights as secondary leaving Motiti Island people unsure whether or when the Club would operate. In 1984 Island Air Safaris commenced operations between Tauranga and Motiti Island and this led to the end of Bell Air's Motiti Island service. 

By 1975 Bell Air had three Cessnas including Cessna 172 ZK-DEY and Cessna 177 Cardinal ZK-DKL, but in September 1975 the company introduced its first twin engine aircraft into the fleet in the form of Piper PA23 Aztec ZK-DUB. The Aztec gave greater coverage and speed out over the water for the fish spotting as well as being used for charter work and as a back-up aircraft for regional operator Air North.

Piper Aztec ZK-DUB at Invercargill in July 1978

Bell Air's Cessna 172 ZK-EHJ at Whakatane in August 1981

The fish spotting proved lucrative for Bell Air and this enable the company to purchase Rockwell Shrike Commander 500, ZK-PAT (c/n 500-S-3137) in December 1977. Again, the Aero Commander provided an excellent platform for the fish spotting. The purchase of the Shrike Commander was followed in April 1978 with the addition an older of Aero Commander 500A ZK-DCF (c/n 500-A-1274-97) to its fleet, the additional Aero Commander replacing the Piper Aztec ZK-DUB. 

Taken at Hokitika on 5 July 1983 Shrike Commander ZK-PAT, its registration in honour of Graham Bell's wife Pat

The second Commander, ZK-DCF taken at Whakatane in August 1981

In 1979 Whakatane's Air New Zealand service saw a daily midday flight to Wellington via Wanganui and an afternoon service to Auckland. Neither of these suited Whakatane business people and so the company successfully applied for a non-scheduled air service between Whakatane and Auckland. The service began on the 23rd of October 1979 with Cliff Stockwell flying the first flight. A morning and evening weekday service was operated between Whakatane and Auckland and return enabling a day's business for Whakatane and Auckland business people.

Bell Air's 1980 timetable

In May 1980 the company was granted an amendment to its air service licence with the licence to operate a non-scheduled service between Whakatane and Auckland revoked and substituted with a licence to operate a scheduled service.

The Auckland air service proved to be popular, and at times using both Aero Commanders had to be used and so the decision was made to purchase a 15 seat Beech 99. ZK-LLA (c/n U-52) was a 1970 model purchased second hand in the United States for around $640,000 and entered service with Bell Air in August 1981. The Beech 99 was welcomed with an air show at Whakatane that was attended by some 1500 people from Whakatane and surrounding districts. The aircraft took local dignitaries and the press for sightseeing flights.

While Bell Air had moved into the turbo-prop age it still had a need to keep its overheads at a minimum. The pilots loaded the freight, flew the aircraft, returned to the office and did the bookwork. And at this time the company's head office was in the Bell family home where Pat Bell, Graham's wife, (hence the Shrike Commander being registered ZK-PAT) acted as the office manager.

Flying over its home town, the sleek Beech 99 ZK-LLA flying over Whakatane. Photo : Bell Air

The Beech 99 was a popular choice and passenger numbers grew as a result. In the 1980-81 financial year the airline carried 3685 passengers and 2237kg of freight. In the following year passengers had grown to 5922 and 22,246kg of freight was flown. 

In January 1982 the first Aero Commander, ZK-DCF was sold but the company was keen to expand. In 1982 Bell Air applied to operate flights from Whakatane to Palmerston North and Wellington but the service never eventuated. 

Beech 99 ZK-LLA in Hokitika on 19 July 1983. In 1983 and 1984 the NZ Forest Service used Bell Air to carry tree seedlings from North Island nurseries for planting in South Westland. This was to fulfil a Government promise to plant up to 10,000 ha of special purpose trees in South Westland after Okarito and Waikukupa forests were added to Westland National Park.

An undated Bell Air timetable from the 1980s with Bell Air running to Auckland seven days a week.
The pilot on the right is Peter Vincent, founder of Vincent Aviation

LLA again in its new colour scheme while on a charter to Christchurch on 31 August 1986

In 1988 Mount Cook used Bell Air’s Beech 99 ZK-LLA on services between Auckland and Rotorua with the Beech carrying Mount Cook Airline titles.

Bell Air's Beech 99 ZK-LLA wearing Mount Cook Airline's titles seen here at Auckland on 8 February 1988

In these years Air New Zealand were supportive of the service with many business passengers to and from Wellington transhipping between Bell Air and Air New Zealand. This relationship soured, however, when in February 1990 Air New Zealand announced that it was to replace Whakatane’s Friendship service to Auckland and Wellington with Eagle Air Bandeirantes flying three flights a day between Whakatane and Auckland.

The Whakatane Beacon of 16 February 1990 reported Bell Air’s response. Graeme Bell said, “We are not going to sit back and let Eagle Air walk all over us. We are going to fight and we hope that the people of the Eastern Bay of Plenty will give us their support.” The ‘fight’ took the form of Bell Air aligning itself to Ansett New Zealand as well as entering into debate in the local paper. Bell Air contribution to search and rescue and air ambulance work was well known and it was suggested the loss of the scheduled service could put this community work at risk. In addition, Bell Air argued that their jet-prop Beech 99 was superior to the Bandeirante being both faster and quieter.

On the 5th of March 1990 Bell Air began their new relationship with Ansett New Zealand. Ansett provided terminal services in Auckland, baggage handling, ZQ (Ansett) flight numbers, "through fares" to Ansett's destinations beyond Auckland, access to their reservations system and marketing support. Bell Air added an additional midday weekday Beech 99 return service to Auckland leaving Whakatane at noon arriving at 12.50pm to connect with Ansett New Zealand services. The return service left at Auckland at 1.20pm. This gave Whakatane 18 Bell Air flights to Auckland each week with three weekday return services, one return service on Saturdays and two return services on Sundays with Eagle Air offering a similar number of flights.

Founder of Bell Air, Graham Bell (right) with Ansett New Zealand’s manager of marketing operations David Squires (left) and commercial sales manager, Tony Terrill (middle). Photo : Whakatane Beacon, 13 March 1990

Bell Air aligned with Ansett New Zealand... Timetable effective 5 March 1990

On the 2nd of April 1990 Bell Air inaugurated a new air service between Palmerston North and Whakatane in conjunction with Ansett New Zealand. The service operated thrice weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays using the Shrike Commander for the 70 minute flight. Flight ZQ365 departed Whakatane at 10.00am arriving at Palmerston North at 11.10am while the return flight, ZQ368, departed Palmerston North at 2.20pm arriving back at Whakatane at 3.30pm. The service was not successful, however, and ended after a short time.

Bell Air timetable with Tranzair style script, effective 24 June 1990

For Bell Air this alignment with Ansett initially proved successful. Graham Bell told Wings magazine in 1991, “We enjoy parochial, loyal support from this area... Since our alignment with Ansett, loadings have increased.” The airline continued to operate in its own right and colours with the advantages of linking into a main trunk carrier. 

By January 1992, however, the Beech was repainted into Tranzair titles but with smaller “Operated by Bell Air” titles on the side of the aircraft. Shortly after, in May 1992, the Shrike Commander ZK-PAT was sold.

Taken in its home patch ZK-LLA at Whakatane on 18 December 1993 in Tranzair colours

Bell Air continued to operate the Beech 99 until late 1995 when Whakatane's Tranzair service was then taken over Rex Aviation using Bandeirante and Northern Commuter Airlines using a Piper Chieftain. The Beech 99 flew its last Whakatane-Auckland-Whakatane service on the 6th of November 1995 under the command of Tony McKevitt. This was the last Tranzair flight and scheduled service operated by Bell Air. The Beech 99 was positioned to Dennis Thompson's at Ardmore on the 5th of February 1996 and it was subsequently exported to the United States.

Ironically both Malcolm Campbell of Eagle Air and Graham Bell of Bell started a small charter operation and took them into the turbine age. The difference between them was that Eagle Air had grown beyond one route. When Air New Zealand looked for companies to operate their new commuter services only two were chosen, Eagle Air and Air Nelson. Sadly, despite the alliance with Ansett New Zealand, Bell Air was the casualty.

Bell Air continued operations as it started with a charter operation using Cessna 172 ZK-LLB until it was sold in March 1997. 

The same aircraft - Bell Air's Cessna 172 ZK-LLB. Above, ZK-LLB wearing the registration ZK-ENY while being engaged on marijuana spotting for the police. Photo taken at Nelson on 14 January 1995. Below ZK-LLB taken at Whakatane on 17 April 1996.

Meanwhile Tranzair continued to operate an Auckland-Whakatane service into 1996. On 29 February 1996 the Tranzair name was changed with the airline adopting a new logo and colours for the Ansett New Zealand feeder operation as Ansett New Zealand Regional. Flights continued to Whakatane until Ansett 3 November 1996 when Ansett pulled out of Whakatane citing economic factors.

People Included
Graham Bell - Pilot/Managing Director
Pat Bell - Office Manager
Tim Dennis - Pilot
Greg Dragicevich - Pilot
Dellis Eades - Reservations Officer
John Eades - Reservations Manager
Tim Jeffares - Pilot
Steve Kingsbury - Pilot
Tony McKevitt - Pilot
Craig Steele - Pilot
Cliff Stockwell - Pilot
Peter Vincent - Pilot
Murray Wellington - Pilot

Masterton, Hokitika and Wanaka Seek More Flights

While Air New Zealand's Link operator Eagle Air withdrew flights between Westport and Christchurch and Oamaru and Christchurch in December other centres are looking for more flights.

In November Masterton mayor Garry Daniell, noting good loads out of Masterton on the northbound morning service and southbound evening service suggested a return flight back to Masterton from Auckland in the morning which would then continue on to Christchurch with the reverse service being offered late afternoon.

In December Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Steve Sanderson approached Eagle Air with a view to obtaining earlier and/or later flights in and out of Wanaka. At present Wanaka receives a daily midday flight to and from Christchurch.

In January Hokitika Airport Company chairman, Bruce Smith, in light of good loadings on Eagle Air flights to Christchurch, spoke of the "huge opportunity" to link Hokitika with Wellington, Queenstown and Wanaka. Hokitika currently has up to four to five weekday flights to Christchurch.

Once again Eagle Air is presented with a problem - the aspirations of local communities and the need to be a viable business. One wonders how viable a service run by Beech 1900s can be - the Beech is a highly sophisticated and therefore not cheap aircraft. More and more people are wanting a low-cost flight which on a 19-seater is not really viable. For many an economic alternate is to drive to a major airport. Even on the West Coast Greymouth people will drive to Westport to get a cheap grab-a-seat to Wellington - it is only 30 minutes more than driving to Hokitika and from there all flights to Wellington are via Christhchurch and grab-a-seats are never offered to the capital. Other Greymouth people again will drive to Christchurch to catch a flight north. By the time one drives to Hokitika, flies to Christchurch, and even with a 20 minute stop between flights one can be half to Christchurch by car, and in Christchurch there are more options for cheap flights.

To date there has been no move on Eagle's part to introduce new services. Eagle is right to be cautious in introducing new services. But it can't afford to lose innovation and ignore the legitimate option that people can and are driving to major centres. To do that Eagle and provincial air services would both be losers.

Remote Adventures

Takaka's Remote Adventures would have to win the prize for having the most unlikely timetabled air route in New Zealand. In September the company announced an service from Takaka to Paraparaumu each Saturday and Sunday using their Cessna 185, ZK-CKO. The company's website now indicates a third weekly flight is also available on a Wednesday. In addition to this schedule Remote Adventures offer local trips around Golden Bay, Kahurangi and Lord of the Rings locations as well as a niche service for transport to and from the the Heaphy Track and on-demand flights operate between Takaka, Brown Hut, Karamea, Motueka and Nelson.

Basking in the Golden Bay sun at Takaka is Cessna 185, ZK-CKO, on 29 January 2010 - K Paterson photo

Remote Adventures website states, "We are adding an additional aircraft for the 2009/2010 season to cope with demand." The additional aircraft is Cessna 172, ZK-WFS, seen here at Takaka on 29 January 2010 - K Paterson photo

Additional Nelson Flight for Soundsair

Noted on the Soundsair website, www.soundsair.co.nz, is a new flight to Nelson to cope with demand starting on 20 February 2010. Soundsair have been flying to Nelson since 2005 when they took over the contract from Vincent Aviation to fly the Dominion Post newspaper from Wellington. In Novermber 2007, following the purchase of a Cessna Grand Caravan (ZK-SAA), the company announced the addition of four evening flights to Wellington each week. The purchase of a third Caravan and the merger with Nelson's Flight Corporation, saw Soundsair introduce weekday midday flights from 4 May 2009. Since then there have been minor additions to the Nelson schedule. The latest addition brings Soundsair flights to Nelson up to 19 per week.

Soundsair continue to operate to core flight flights to Picton as well as daily flights to Blenheim. Their service to Kaikoura ended some time ago

CAN YOU HELP??? - What was the start date of Soundsair's flights to Nelson in 2005?
CAN YOU HELP??? - What was the last date of Soundsair's flights to Kaikoura?
If you can help please e-mail me at hcs.steve@xtra.co.nz

The third Caravan ZK-TZR at Omaka on 22 January 2009

Air New Zealand drops Oamaru - AGAIN

Some 15 years after Air New Zealand had withdrawn its Air Nelson air service to Oamaru the national carrier moved to return.

For some time the Waitaki District Council had been advocating for the reintroduction of an air service to Oamaru. In 2005 the Council came in for ratepayer criticism when it spent about $400,000 resealing the 1.4km runway, painting the terminal, installing new toilets and refurbishing the control tower. The works, however, were not in vain for on the 21^st of June 2006 Air New Zealand announced that it was to reintroduce a six day a week air service to Oamaru. The new service was to operate on a trial basis for six months and whether it continued was to depend on the support it received. The new service was to be operated by Air New Zealand’s Link carrier, Eagle Air, using a 19-seat British Aerospace Jetstream 32 chartered from Air National. The Jetstream proved to be a much more suitable aircraft than the previously unpressurised Piper Chieftains Air Nelson had operated some 15 years before.

In a company press release Air New Zealand Group General Manager Norm Thompson said the airline was delighted to once again provide Oamaru with an air service and, given the support of the local business community, he was confident that it would be well utilised saying that "this new service is a good example of Air New Zealand's commitment to support the smaller regional communities of New Zealand by providing direct links to the larger centres."  

The Waitaki District Council had to invest some $40,000 to get Oamaru Airport ready for the new service. The council entered a six month contract with Air NZ, waiving landing fees and providing support staff at the terminal for flights. The Waitaki District Council’s Corporate Services group manager, Stephen Halliwell, was reported in the Otago Daily Times as saying “it would cost the council about $15,000 for the six months to staff the airport terminal for flights. Up to $25,000 would be spent by the council before the service started to get the airport operational. That included rewiring of the terminal, interior carpet and paint, installing a heat pump and furniture. Outside work would include resealing the runway apron and additional runway lighting. Fencing and upgrading security, including a security camera for the carpark, would be needed.”

The first flight operated into Oamaru on Sunday the 6^th of August 2006. About 120 people welcomed the first flight flown by Air National BAe Jetstream ZK-ECI, aptly named Spirit of Waitaki. The first scheduled flight from Christchurch to Oamaru was flown under the command of Captain Alan Lord and First Officer Peter McKenzie and landed at Oamaru just after 5.45pm carrying 14 passengers. At the launch of the service Eagle Air’s general manager, Doug Roberts, was reported as saying 17 passengers were booked to fIy out of Oamaru the next morning and forward bookings were strong. “All we need now is for the people of Oamaru and North Otago to support the service," he said.

Photo : Otago Daily Times

The new service saw Monday to Friday flights departing Oamaru at 7.05am for the 45 minute flight Christchurch. On Friday nights there was an evening flight from Oamaru at 6.25pm which arrived in Christchurch at 7.10pm. Southbound flights departed Christchurch, Sunday to Friday, at 5.20pm to arrive in Oamaru at 6.05pm. The flights were well patronised and the service continued well past its six month trial period.

In April 2009 the Oamaru air service received a bomb shell when Air New Zealand announced a major revision of the timetable from the 18^th of May 2009. The convenient northbound morning and southbound evening services were cut and were replaced with a Monday to Friday Christchurch-Oamaru service which departed Christchurch at 8.30am and then left Oamaru on the return flight for Christchurch at 9.35am. Eagle Air’s General manager, Grant Kerr, told the Oamaru Mail a review of the service showed more customers utilised the service into Oamaru rather than out of Oamaru and the changes would better meet the needs of business travellers. Customer feedback suggested that business people flying into Oamaru would prefer to arrive in the morning rather than the evening, to allow for early meetings and a full day's work, he said. The only problem with this was there no afternoon service out of Oamaru. The new schedule was also totally unsuitable for Oamaru business people.

The Spirit of Waitaki, Air National's BAe Jetstream ZK-ECI at Oamaru on 7 December 2009.

Unsurprisingly it did not work. In July Deputy Mayor, Gary Kircher, told the Otago Daily Times, the changed schedule "just hasn't been a flyer". Following many complaints from North Otago people and discussions between Eagle Air and the Waitaki District Council a revision to the timetable revision was made from the 20^th of July 2009. This latest schedule varied from day to day: Flights left Christchurch for Oamaru on Mondays at 8.30am and 6.25pm; on Wednesdays at 6.25pm and on Fridays at 2.20pm. Flights from Oamaru to Christchurch left at 9.35am on Mondays, 7.05am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 3.25pm on Fridays.

Once again, this schedule proved unsustainable and it was no surprise when it was announced on the 14^th of October 2009 that the last flight to Oamaru would operate on the 31^st of December 2009. It was stated that passenger loads on the service had averaged 45% over the previous six months. No reporter asked what the load factor had been with the original northbound morning and evening southbound services.

Local interests were not impressed with the Air New Zealand decision and felt it was an interesting time for Eagle Air to pull out when there were proposals for a new cement plant by Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd, a proposal by Meridian Energy for a new power scheme on the lower Waitaki River, new irrigation schemes and a new dairy processing plant near Glenavy.

And so it was that on 31 December 2009 Eagle Air’s Beech 1900 ZK-EAL flew the last Air New Zealand service to and from Oamaru for the second time. Six passengers flew into Oamaru at around 9.10am on with 14 passengers leaving on the last flight at 9.25am.

The last flight... passengers checking into board Eagle Air's Beech 1900 ZK-EAL for the last flight from Oamaru on the 31st of December 2009. Photos : Oamaru Mail

 

So what’s the moral behind the Oamaru saga? Provincial centres want not only an air service but a good air service. Gone are the days when Friendships flew into provincial centres at times when an aircraft was available but people didn’t want to fly. Nowadays, if there is no convenient and relatively cheap air service, people will drive to a larger centre to catch a flight to a major centre to fly when they want to fly. In Oamaru’s case Christchurch is an easy 3 hour drive. With flights to from Christchurch to Auckland from $ 59 or Christchurch to Wellington for $39 why pay huge fares to fly from Oamaru? Grab-a-seat offered Christchurch Oamaru fares often – but rarely if ever offered cheap fares beyond Christchurch. The challenge for Eagle Air is to be all things to all people – provide a good business service to the provinces and at the same time be a low-cost carrier. Not easy. In the meantime we wait for the next flight to Oamaru...

Air New Zealand Announce End of Christchurch-Westport service

Air New Zealand announced that it’s six month trial air service between Westport and Christchurch was to be cut after Solid Energy removed its support for it. The service, instigated and subsidised by the state owned enterprise cola producer, Solid Energy was launched on 6 July 2009 amid much controversy. While Air New Zealand and Solid Energy had been in discussions for some three years about the possibility of such an air service earlier in 2009 Coastair had commenced a three-day-a-week between Christchurch-Westport-Greymouth-Christchurch morning service with a return service being flown in the later afternoon/early evening. Air New Zealand’s Beech 1900’s flying Christchurch-Westport-Christchurch in the mornings and evenings on Mondays and Fridays marked the death knell of the Coastair service. Vicki Blyth, Solid Energy’s communications director, told the Westport News, “the company had spent enough underwriting the unsuccessful Air NZ trial. ‘Unfortunately the service is not going to wash its face financially and stand on its own two feet. We were only prepared to do it for a short period to prove that it was viable. Unfortunately it's not’.” Eagle Air said the service had attracted average loads of only 55%. The service ceased on December 19 when the mines closed with the expectation it would have resumed in February. The first scheduled air service between Westport and Christchurch began on 20 December 1968 when NAC launched its trans-alpine Friendship service to Hokitika. Initially the Friendship connected at Hokitika with the DC-3 service from Wellington, Nelson and Westport to Hokitika where passengers changed aircraft to continue on to Westport or Christchurch. Following the upgrading of Westport airport to Friendship standard NAC introduced Friendships on the Wellington-Nelson-Westport-Hokitika-Christchurch flights. Scheduling was not great... the north and south bound services from Westport and Hokitika often departed within 1 to 2 hours of each other making it impossible for passengers to do a day’s business on or off the Coast. Over the years Nelson was dropped from the service and at various times, while operated by NAC and later Air New Zealand, the Westport-Hokitika link was cut severing Westport’s more direct connection to Christchurch rather than via Wellington. The withdrawal of Friendships from the West Coast on 30 October 1988 in favour of Air Nelson using Metroliners also marked the end of the Westport-Hokitika link. However Air Nelson were prevailed upon to try re-establishing the link with Metroliners and 6 February 1990 and 9 February 1991. Once again the timetable was not conducive to business traffic (Hokitika had 3 Metroliner departures within 1 hour 40) and so the service was scrapped. In 2002 the Cooperite community from Haupiri, trading as Air West Coast, offered a Greymouth-Westport-Christchurch on Tuesdays and Thursdays using Piper Chieftain or Piper Seneca aircraft. It seems the flights were operated on an as required basis and by April 2003 they were no longer being offered. Coastair, a subsidiary of Ashburton Air Services Ltd (AAS), began its air service on 8 April 2009 using a 12 seater Cessna 404 Titan, ZK-NDY. Two weeks later Coastair had flown only eight of a scheduled 12 flights between Westport and Christchurch due to a lack of bookings while at that stage no-one from Greymouth had used the service. Coastair said it needed three return passengers per flight to break even. The service was reportedly starting to build before Air New Zealand announced its, what Coastair described as “predatory”, service. Coastair flew its last service to Westport on 6 July 2009, the same day as Eagle Air commenced the new Air New Zealand service. Following the withdrawal of the Air New Zealand service Coastair ruled out a return to Westport stating their own failed venture to Westport last year cost up to $80,000 and they didn’t want to repeat the experience.

Coastair's Cessna 404 Titan, ZK-NDY at Greymouth on Friday the 3rd of July. Coastair's service ended on the following Monday.

17-18 Dec 2009 - Hokitika-Haast Air Service celebrations

18 December 2009 celebrated the 75th anniversary of New Zealand's first scheduled air service. Bert Mercer formed Air Travel NZ Ltd to fly from Hokitika to South Westland and in particular to Haast which was still cut off from the national raoding network. After World War II Air Travel, Cook Strait Airways and Union Airways were merged to form the NZ National Airways Corporation. In 1978 the national domestic carrier was merged with the international carrier, keeping the latter's name, Air New Zealand. So Hokitika airport holds the honour of being airport that has had the longest continuous scheduled air service in New Zealand. Celebrations at Hokitika and Haast marked the event, though sadly an unusually wet weekend on the Coast kept most of the Haast event firmly on the ground. However, in Hokitika examples of the earlier De Havilland aircraft that started the service were present and offering joyrides mixing with the more contemporary types on their scheduled work...

Air Travel's original aircraft, De Havilland 83 Fox Moth ZK-ADI in full Air Travel colours back at Hokitika. Air Travel had three Fox Moths and these were used were continued to be by NAC until the mid 1950s.

ZK-AYR, an example of Air Travel's two larger De Havilland 90 Dragonfly aircraft which were purchased to expand the air service. These were used on flights to South Westland and through to Greymouth, Westport and Nelson. Both Air Travel's Dragonflies met sad fates.

 

ZK-AXI is New Zealand's only example of a De Havilland 84 Dragon. Following the crash of one of their Dragonfly's, Air Travel acquired a Dargon ZK-AHT, for the service to Nelson. Sadly this too crashed in 1944 killing the founder of Air Travel, Bert Mercer.

Though not used on scheduled air services in Westland Fox Moth ZK-APT was used extensively in South Westland.

Old aircraft, new airport and new terminal. The De Havilland types that frequented Hokitika largely used the old airfield on the south side of the Hokitika River. The move to present airport also involved moving the terminal which was later replaced by the current terminal. The De Havilland aircraft were parked outside the terminal as an extension to it, aptly named the Mercer Lounge, was officially opened.

Continuing on the tradition of British aircraft Air National is chartered to provide additional capacity on the Christchurch-Hokitika service with BAe Jetstream aircraft such as ZK-ECN. At present they fly four flights a week but at times they have been used twice a day.

The weather was starting to turn as Eagle Air's Beech 1900 ZK-EAO arrived from Christchurch. Eagle fly up to five flights a day to Hokitika. With the celebrations it would have been a good day to announce a direct Hokitika-Wellington service... it didn't happen! If you haven't already got a copy of Richard Waugh's book on the historic air service, HOKI TO HAAST, it really is a good read!

Vincent Aviation Eyes Up Greymouth Service

Source : Greymouth Evening Star

Plans for a Greymouth-Wellington airline have reached Development West Coast. Vincent Aviation visited Greymouth on August 5, when its 40 seat Bombardier Dash 8 became the largest passenger plane to land here. The flight was a charter of timber company IPL and sparked talk of a Greymouth-Wellington service. Greymouth has had two air services start up and close down recently. Air West Coast operated by the Gloriavale Christian Community flew to Wellington while Coastair operated by an Ashburton company, flew to Christchurch. In October Air New Zealand firmly denied any plans for Greymouth flights, while Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn held out hope that someone would make a go of it. Development west Coast chief executive John Chang, confirmed today it was in the early stages of talks with Vincent Aviation. He was unable to reveal much about the proposal as it was mostly of a confidential nature. Dr Chang said they were considering the idea, and different business models. “DWC have invited a few potential uses of air services (other air services) for general discussion.” The Greymouth Star understands Vincent Aviation would like Development West Coast to underwrite each flight for several thousand dollars. Vincent Aviation managing director was unable to be contacted this morning.

Sunair Introduce Whitianga-Auckland Air Service

In Novermber 2009 Sunair announced the introduction of a new twice daily Whitianga to Auckland service. The company announced that flights would Flights leave Whitianga at 8am and 2.30pm and return from Auckland at 9.30am and 4pm using Cessna 172 or Piper Aztec aircraft and being flown by local pilot, Charlie Chilwell. Whitianga had not had a scheduled service to Auckland for ten years. The service began on Monday 14 December using Cessna 172 ZK-DHN carrying two passengers. The local newspaper, the Coromandel Peninsula Post, reported that "there are a number of forward bookings and things are looking very positive. 'Generally there’s a lot of interest.'"

Sunair would have to be New Zealand's most extensive third level operation. In total it operates 9 Piper Aztecs and the Cessna 172 to eight North Island destinations in addition to Auckland and Whitianga.

Sunair's Cessna 172 ZK-DHN at Tauranga on 1 September 2009

More Masterton Flights Unlikely

Source : http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/3150799/Eagle-call-unlikely-to-succeed
A call for more daily flights out of Masterton looks unlikely for now, Air New Zealand subsidiary Eagle Air says. The airline has been flying six days a week return from Masterton to Auckland since February. Bookings on the 19-seater have been "solid", but Masterton Mayor Garry Daniell wants to see a daily link to Christchurch added and a second, later return flight to Auckland. The current flight suited local business people, but made it difficult for others catching overseas flights, he said. More flights would also make it easier to book large parties for tourism activities. The solution was not simply putting on a bigger plane because the aerodrome could not handle it, Mr Daniell said. Destination Wairarapa chief executive Peter Wilson said the plane was often "packed" and had one of the highest loadings in the country. Apart from business people, the flight was being used by locals who would invite friends to fly in and then go to a show in Wellington, Mr Wilson said. But more seats would be a boon to the tourism sector, he said. "The great thing about that link is it does put us on the map quite literally, with Air New Zealand." Eagle Air general manager Carrie Hurihanganui said the call had been taken on board, but passenger loads and demand were "still settling".