Nearly 2000 seats on Air Chathams have already been booked between Paraparaumu and Auckland ahead of its launch next month - a strong indication of the support Kapiti has for the regional airline. Air Chathams’ founder Craig Emeny and Duane Emeny, General Manager, will be speaking at the Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce’s Business Lunch on the 9th of August about their plans for the district. Heather Hutchings, Chair of the Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce, wants the business communities from Horowhenua through to Porirua to give the airline a warm welcome. “Air Chathams is a fast-growing regional airline, known for its exceptional customer service, convenience and competitive fares. The flights from Kapiti are incredibly business-friendly, with 36 frequent flights to and from Auckland each week. “The recent Colmar Brunton research commissioned by the Kāpiti Coast District Council revealed there is significant untapped potential in Horowhenua and Porirua for travellers. They found in the last 12 months:
- More than 44,000 trips to and from Auckland originating from the Kapiti Coast flew via Wellington
- More than 11,000 trips to and from Auckland originating from Horowhenua flew via Wellington
- More than 85,000 trips to and from Auckland originating from Porirua flew via Wellington
Duane Emeny, General Manager of Air Chathams, is excited by the prospects of operating from Kāpiti. “Initial bookings are trending positively with the first seats sold within minutes of the Kapiti to Auckland service announcement. The airline has sold just under 2000 seats already with another three weeks until launch on August 20. It gives us real confidence that Kapiti residents, and those abroad, are aware of our good reputation and booking seats early with Air Chathams' new Kapiti service". The large number of early bookings is also an indication of the strength of Kapiti’s economy. “Our economy is outperforming the Wellington regions. Last year we grew by 2.7% compared to 2.2% across the wider region. Infrastructure like these daily flights will be vital in shaping our economy - particularly alongside the opportunities major developments like Transmission Gully offer” says Heather Hutchings, Chair of the Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce. Wayne Maxwell, Kāpiti Coast District Council CEO, will also speak about the coast’s fantastic economic prospects at the business lunch which will be held at Southwards on the 9th of August at 12 pm. Every person attending the lunch has a chance to win a return flight to Auckland on Air Chathams. The Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce exists to advance the economy by creating wealth and employment and solve local business issues by providing a collective voice for business in Kāpiti. Over 300 members in Kāpiti belong to the Kāpiti Coast Chamber of Commerce to stay connected, network and gain knowledge and support from our local membership.
Press Release: Kapiti Coast Chamber Of Commerce
Excellent to hear! If this keeps up maybe Air Chathams could do the Christchurch service too at some stage...
ReplyDeleteI think it would work too. I can't remember what was said here on on aviation net forums but I believe the loading avg were around the 30s so... The Saab would be getting potentially full loads. One thing that was on my mind too. Did air nz drop the Chch Kapiti route due to better utilisation of the Q300 and stretched capacity of their network?
ReplyDeleteAir NZ dropped the route because they weren't getting the loads they required to make it a viable route. But the timings were awful, 1030 to CHC and then 1430 back from CHC. So wasn't surprising they didn't get the loads.
DeleteIf Air Chathams did it right the AKL service could easily become operated by the convair and have the Saab do a couple of return flights to CHC too...
Air Chathams could also use the Metro for a Whakatane to Wellington service.
Delete1. Metro from PPQ to CHC morning and evening might be feasible
Delete2. Convair can't operate scheduled services to PPQ.
3. Saab time for Air Chathams must be close to fully utilised.
4. Eagle Air had very low loads on WHK-WGL which is why it gave up.Dropped in February 2012 - less than 5000 passengers on that route in the previous year according to the airport annual reports. Hard to see any business there for Air Chathams.
Convair can easily operate out of PPQ, only thing stopping it is if there is enough numbers for the service to provide a convair service.
DeleteSaab is limited to 30 seats outbound due to operational limitations. Convair faces same or greater limitations so is not viable for scheduled operations. You are confusing technical possibilities with operational realities. Air Chathams has not suggested to Kapiti that it would offer Convairs, for good reason.
DeleteOne question... bit of topic.... I spent the whole day plane spotting at Palmy... One thing I noticed for the first time... Taupo dosnt get the AT72 Operated by mount cook airlines title as you walk up to the ATR.
ReplyDeleteWow it's now 22 years since the Lily graced our skies and another 17-18 years since the final remnants of the rainbow scheme and the Lily departed with the last 72-200.
To the average jo blog.. that's a long time for ones memory. How relavant re those titles in this day and age.. and to have it in the location where the public see it. I guess Mount Cook is well and truly gobbled by Air NZ a good pecentage of staff from those days/mount cook family wpuld be few and far between... Mount Cook is just a name and a headquarters in Chch. Is there any obligation apart from moral for Air NZ to have these titles in two locations on the ATR. Another question. I thought air nz had returned the Lily to the airplane or was that just the black livery a one off
What on earth are you going on about???
Delete+1 Lost me that's for sure
DeleteIt would be the legal entity of the operator of that aircraft - when booking in GDS each link airline appears in the same way as a codeshare flight (eg ‘OPERATED BY MT COOK AIRLINES TRADING AS AIRNZ LINK’). I’ve had overseas call centres query this on a few occasions when booking redemption seats - as they’re not allowed to book codeshare flights but this is how the link flights appear in GDS. Perhaps they included the old NM logo on the black beauty as that was a ‘one-off’ and they were obviously making it special.
DeleteAlso, even if the public are no longer aware of what was NM, the crew and ground crew certainly would be aware of whom they are working for and having the titles there albeit relatively small would positively reaffirm that.
1). Taupo doesn't get ATR's. Q300 service this port.
Delete2). I believe the Mt Cook Logo doesn't appear anywhere on the ATR's anymore.
KCDC, Kapiti Coast Airport and Air Chathams are having an Open Day on 5 August next from 10am including DC3 flights. See their websites for more details.
ReplyDelete