65 years ago, on the 6th of November 1961, the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company, later known as Mount Cook Airlines, commenced scheduled services with the company's first Douglas DC-3, ZK-BKD, flying from Christchurch to Mount Cook, Cromwell and Te Anau under the command of was Captain J G Irving (seconded from NAC) and First Office G L Small with W A Burns acting as purser looking after the 16 passengers on board.
The following day the Press reported om the flight...
.jpg) |
| The Press, 7 November 1961 |
.jpg) |
| The first timetable |
.jpg)
For the first summer the flights operated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Queenstown was not certified for DC-3 operations and so Queenstown passengers were bussed between Cromwell and Queenstown.
 |
| Douglas DC-3 ZK-BKD at Cromwell |
So began the story of one of New Zealand's most amazing airlines. My profile on Mount Cook through to the mid 1990s can be found here... https://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2014/02/mount-cook-airlines-part-1-1960s-birth.html
My profile
No comments:
Post a Comment