Flight Hauraki's Scenic World

On Monday I tried out Flight Hauraki's service to Whangarei... Manks thanks to Chris for arranging it, William the pilot and Paul the owner of Flight Hauraki. What a great way to see the beauty of Northland and spend a day in either Whangarei or Kerikeri or, do what I did just go up and back for the ride.

For more of Flight Hauraki see... http://www.flighthauraki.co.nz/

Mainstay of Flight Hauraki's new Kerikeri service and my ride for the day was Cessna 207 ZK-MDZ.

Lining up runway 21 at North Shore.

The Whangaparoa Peninsula above and Orewa below...

 

Above, the Mahurangi Peninsula with Kawau Island further out and below the changing face of agriculture near Warkworth 

Above, Mangawhai Heads and below, the Hen of the Hen and Chicken Islands

 

The beautiful white sands of the beaches near Whangarei

 

Whangarei Heads above and below, Marsden Point oil refinery

 

Finals on to Runway 24 at Whangarei

MDZ heads off to Kerikeri leaving me to do some plane spotting at Whangarei

On the way home - looking into the setting sun with views of the headwaters of the Kaipara Harbour

 

Joining overhead North Shore, looking to the city and Rangitoto

 

Back home, on finals at North Shore

For the timetable for the North Shore - Whangarei - Kerikeri service see... http://www.flighthauraki.co.nz/flight-options/scenic-hamilton/

Second Scheduled Service for Flight Hauraki

Flight Hauraki is about to start its second scheduled service within a month. On the 1st of November Flight Hauraki took over Salt Air's North Shore-Whangarei-Kerikeri service. from the 16th of November 2012 Flight Hauraki will offer a North Shore-Waiheke Island-Great Barrier Island air service on Mondays and Fridays. Flight Hauraki also offers non-scheduled services from Waiheke to Auckland International, Great Barrier Island and North Shore.

 

 

Mt Cook "All Black" arrives

Air New Zealand Link/Mount Cook Airline ATR72-212A (600) ZK-MVA touched down at Christchurch mid afternoon 06 November concluding its delivery flight from France with the final sector originating at Brisbane.

ZK-MVA is set to enter service 14 November from Christchurch to Dunedin.

Shortly after its arrival at Christchurch, photo by P Weis (c) 2012

3rd Level Whangarei

Yesterday afternoon I tried out Flight Hauraki's new service to Whangarei and Kerikeri by doing a return trip up to Whangarei... I will post more on the trip later but I was quite pleased to see some third level airline traffic at Whangarei

 

My ride for the day was Flight Hauraki's Cessna 207 ZK-MDZ... seen departing Whangarei for Kerikeri. Photos taken on 5 November 2012 by S Lowe

 

Whangarei's 3rd level heavy is Eagle Air... Beech 1900 ZK-EAI arrives from Auckland... Photo taken at Whangarei on 5 November 2012 by S Lowe 

Great Barrier Airlines don't run a scheduled service to Whangarei but they do run a regular charter service between Whangarei and Kaitaia for Northland Health. Piper Navajo ZK-NSN was parked up for the day waiting for the next trip. It now wears Great Barrier titles on the engine cowlings. Photo taken at Whangarei on 5 November 2012 by S Lowe

A surprise visitor was Garden City Air Exec's Cessna 441 Conquest, ZK-NFD, which was in on a charter as opposed to air ambulance work. Photo taken at Whangarei on 5 November 2012 by S Lowe

 

Hong Kong-London Service to end

 

 

Air New Zealand will withdraw services between Hong Kong and London from 4 March 2013 as the airline focuses on returning its international network to profitability. In a separate move which is part of Air New Zealand’s strategy to implement an alliance based network with a Pacific Rim focus, the airline has also formed a strategic agreement with Cathay Pacific on the Auckland - Hong Kong route. Rob Fyfe, Chief Executive Officer, says a comprehensive review of the Hong Kong - London service has confirmed the route would not become profitable in the foreseeable future. A reduction of approximately 70 London based cabin crew roles is expected as a result. "At the same time, we wanted to strengthen our presence in Hong Kong which is an important market and vital gateway into Mainland China for Air New Zealand. In line with this we have received approval from the New Zealand Ministry of Transport to form a strategic agreement with Cathay Pacific effective from 12 December 2012." "The agreement will see both carriers continue to operate the same frequency between Auckland and Hong Kong while introducing code share on each other’s flights as well as opening up excellent connections between New Zealand and Mainland China," says Mr Fyfe. Air New Zealand operates daily year round services between Auckland and Hong Kong while Cathay Pacific operates daily year round services and up to double daily in the peak period between 2 December and 1 March. Air New Zealand customers will now also earn Airpoints Dollars on Cathay Pacific flights between Auckland and Hong Kong, and Airpoints and Koru members travelling on Air New Zealand flight numbers will receive lounge access and premium customer benefits on this route. Mr Fyfe says the decision to exit from Hong Kong - London will enable more capacity to be redeployed onto the popular North American destinations of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Last month Air New Zealand announced a further 5,000 return seats to its North American routes through to the end of June 2013. Releasing capacity from Hong Kong - London enables the continuation of this additional capacity. "We’re excited about our upcoming move to the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX where Air New Zealand has been contracted to design and operate a brand new and much improved Star Alliance lounge, making Los Angeles a great place to connect through to London or destinations further into Europe. We remain committed to servicing Europe via these daily Los Angeles - London services." Customers currently holding tickets to commence travel with Air New Zealand between Hong Kong and London from March 4 2013 will be re-booked, in most cases onto Cathay Pacific’s services which depart within an hour of Air New Zealand’s existing service. Customers will be contacted by Air New Zealand or their agent to confirm their re-booking and reissue their tickets. Air New Zealand is working through re-accommodating approximately 8,000 customers and most customers can expect to be contacted within the next couple of weeks. Air New Zealand will honour Airpoints members’ frequent flyer programme points as per their original ticketed booking. Air New Zealand first began operating services between Hong Kong and London in October 2006 and has operated between 5-7 times a week using a Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

 

Source : http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/air-nz-ends-services-between-hong-kong-and-london/5/139724

Taupo Turbos and a few other bits and pieces

Two twin turbo props, Eagle Air Beech 1900 ZK-EAA arriving at Taupo from Wellington as Taupo Tandem Skydiving's GAF N22 Nomad ZK-SNZ taxis out on another mission... Photos taken at Taupo on 30 October 2012 by S Lowe

 

Also engaged on skydiving duties was Taupo Tandem Skydiving's Pacific Aerospace 750XL ZK-TTL. Photo taken at Taupo on 30 October 2012 by S Lowe

A couple of Pipers, Piper Archer ZK-ELX sets off for home as does Piper Commanche ZK-PMC - though it only taxied from maintenance down to its hangar. Photos taken at Taupo on 30 October 2012 by S Lowe

 

A new one for me was the Hawera Aero Club's Cessna 152 Aerobat ZK-UNB. Photo taken at Taupo on 30 October 2012 by S Lowe

The most exotic aircraft was undoubtedly Alcoa’s Global Express N264A. Photo taken at Taupo on 30 October 2012 by S Lowe

Caught on topdressing duties was Superair's PAC Turbo Fletcher. Photo taken near Ohakuri Dam on 31 October 2012 by S Lowe

First, Faster, Fresher - Air Queenstown

Air Queenstown Ltd was established by Thomas Enright in October 1994. Shortly after this move were set in place to import a Cessna Golden Eagle.

Cessna 421C Golden Eagle ZK-ZAQ (c/n 421C0060) was duly registered to the company on the 23^rd of February 1995. Tim Enright, David Marriott and Andrew Moseley were engaged as pilots. The company’s early advertising promoted first class scenic flights and charter from Queenstown as well as scheduled flights from Queenstown to Dunedin and Christchurch with experienced two pilot crews.

Just what is the name of the airline? Queenstown Air as in the photo and first timetable or Air Queenstown, the company name and in the later timetable? Cessna 421C Golden Eagle ZK-ZAQ taken at Queenstown on 14 December 1995

The scheduled flights hoped to start on the 27th of March 1995. The company envisaged the Golden Eagle flying six return flights between Wellington and Queenstown each week and five return flights each week between Wellington and Dunedin. The service, however, didn’t get airborne as planned as the necessary paperwork had not been completed.

The company then looked to a 1st of May commencement date but this too was not met due to a serious engine problem being discovered shortly before the first flights. A decision was made to order a new engine from the United States. This arrived two months later and another three weeks was needed to ready the plane for service.

Is it Air Queenstown or Queenstown Air - timetable effective April 1995

 

Flights finally commenced on the 6th of August 1995 with the first flight operating between Wellington and Queenstown with four passengers. The Otago Daily Times reported that a second flight from Wellington was planned for the following Friday and the company planned to fly to Dunedin on Monday and Tuesday of the next week. But company director David Marriott admitted the company’s original flight schedule which promised Wellington-Queenstown flights five days a week and Queenstown-Dunedin flights three days a week, was “some way off. It will happen but we can’t go straight out and do it because we don’t have any money left,”he said. “We are trying to build it up slowly because we have to wait until we have a reasonably full plane until we fly. We have to establish a reputation.” He said all the problems had been worth it when the company finally flew into Queenstown on Sunday in gloriously sunny weather. “That was great. Things are looking very positive for the future and I’m totally confident we will build up to a fully-scheduled service.”

The Wellington and Dunedin flights were not successful and so in November 1995 Air Queenstown began flights between Queenstown and Christchurch. Eight return flights were scheduled each week. These too were unsuccessful and the service ended in the New Year and the Golden Eagle was sold in April 1996.

Timetable effective November 1995

 

ZK-NBW in new colours

Earlier in the year I caught up with ex-Air New Zealand's Boeing 747-400 ZK-NBW at Tel Aviv after it was added to the Korean register as HL7620 and after its conversion to a freighter...

http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/catching-up-on-ex-kiwi-friend-at-tel.html

 

Bargld01 caught up HL7620 at Incheon-Seoul on 2 November 2012 in full Asiana Cargo configuration and colours

Eagle PR

 

Eagle Air's Carrie Hurihanganui has been busy smoothing ruffled feathers in recent days in the provinces over the last week. The Timaru Herald and Wairarapa Times-Age have carried accounts of her visits...

Timaru

Rumours surrounding Eagle Air's future services have been "put to bed" by general manager Carrie Hurihanganui. Mrs Hurihanganui met councillors, customers and industry leaders in Timaru this week to thank them for their perseverance and to answer questions surrounding the airline's turbulent year. Eagle Air flights to and from Timaru were disrupted in August after hairline cracks were found in the tail area of one of the planes during a routine maintenance check. The airline's fleet of Beech 19ooD aircraft were grounded as a result, disrupting travel throughout the country for five to six weeks. Weather has also disrupted flights to and from Timaru in more recent months, she said. However, she is unsure exactly how many cancellations there had been to the service since the discovery of hairline cracks. She said clearing up the rumours that had circulated about the future of services was one of the reasons for her visit to Timaru this week. "One was that people thought that some of the disruption meant we were looking at moving ourselves from Timaru, but [we are] absolutely not." Another rumour was that Eagle Air was favouring other routes against Timaru. However, the company does not "trade off" routes, she said. "We look for a solution that minimises disruption to all of our customers. All of our ports were affected [by the hairline crack discovery] in one way or another. "We don't trade off Timaru - it's a valuable market." Mrs Hurihanganui said although the visit was brought on by the company's troubled few months, the response from the people she met with had been positive. "Customers have said [the resumed service] has been great and that's where it needs to be. "I apologise for the disruption there's been, but in regards to safety, that's always non-negotiable for us." She said many customers she had met with applauded Eagle Air's approach to safety, despite not being happy that they had missed important meetings. Mrs Hurihanganui will meet with Aoraki Development Business and Tourism chief executive Wendy Smith and mayor Janie Annear every three months to keep the lines of communication open. Mrs Annear said she appreciated Mrs Hurihanganui's visit, which gave councillors a chance to express how valuable the Eagle Air service is to the community. Mrs Smith also found the meeting valuable. "We think it's really positive, and we've got an ongoing commitment with Carrie to keep meeting and discussing the issues."

 

Source : http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/7890731/Eagle-Air-sets-out-its-course

Masterton

 

Eagle Air management was in Masterton this week to assure its regular travellers that it's here for the long haul. General manager Carrie Hurihanganui told an audience at the Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park, Masterton, on Monday night that despite recent challenges, the company had no intention of cutting its service. The Eagle Air Masterton to Auckland service runs six times per week and in recent months has cancelled several services. Ms Hurihanganui acknowledged there had been a reasonable amount of flight disruption, particularly in August when a hairline crack was found in one of its Beech 1900D aircraft and it grounded all 18 in its fleet. The company will always be conservative around safety, she said. After the cancellations some Masterton travellers thought it was "the beginning of the end of our service in Masterton", she said but this was not the case.

Source : http://www.times-age.co.nz/news/eagle-air-service-here-for-the-long-haul/1605296/

Air NZ Link's newest aircraft...

Mount Cook Airline has been handed over its new ATR 72-600 ZK-MVA... The following are a couple of articles that detail the implications of introduction of the new "All Black" aircraft...

Mount Cook Airlines is soon to begin scheduled flights through Taranaki. The airline, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air New Zealand, will begin flying 68-seat ATR72 planes to New Plymouth airport. They will replace some of the existing flights currently operated by fellow subsidiary Air Nelson with its 50-seat Q300 aircraft. According to Air New Zealand's latest flight schedules it will all begin on Monday October 29 when the first ATR will fly from Auckland to New Plymouth. The bigger planes mean 72 extra seats will be available each day, easing a major shortage of seats on scheduled flights through New Plymouth at critical times. But it will also put more pressure on an already overcrowded New Plymouth airport terminal, which may force the New Plymouth District Council to expand the building earlier than planned. Airport manager Kevin Hill said the arrival of the larger planes - with more expected to take over other existing flights in the near future - has the potential to add more than 30,000 people a year to the passenger traffic through New Plymouth. "As a result we might need to bring planned expansion of the terminal forward 12 to 18 months," he said. "We've already increased the availability of parking for cars and rental cars, but it's likely that soon we're going to have to get stuck into the terminal itself. There are already plans in place for upstairs offices, small conference rooms, a viewing deck, and expansion of the ground floor area towards the control tower." Mr Hill added that as passenger numbers grow, it is also likely some form of departure lounge will have to be provided to meet security requirements." The first ATRs to land at New Plymouth will not be the brand-new 600-Series models that are now starting to arrive in the country as part of a $340 million purchase deal by Air New Zealand, but older 500-Series planes that have been here for several years. Yesterday Air New Zealand said the first of the new ATR aircraft will enter into service next month and will share flying duties between ports serviced by Mount Cook Airline services. The first aircraft to arrive will be in Air NZ's all black livery. Subsequent aircraft will be in the new Air New Zealand livery of white with a black tail.

Source :

http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/7824916/Taranaki-to-get-bigger-aircraft, 17 October 2012

Air New Zealand's first new-generation ATR 72-600 aircraft has been handed over in Toulouse, France today, decked out in the airline’s famous 'all black' livery. The aircraft is the first of its kind for Air New Zealand which has a total of seven on order with options to purchase a further five for a total list price of US$270 million. Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe says the aircraft hand over, which took place overnight New Zealand time, is a significant milestone in the airline's ongoing commitment to growing the key domestic sector. "The ATR 72-600 order potentially doubles the size of Air New Zealand's ATR fleet and will put two million additional regional seats into the market," says Mr Fyfe. "The investment in these aircraft, along with a considerable outlay in purchasing both Bombardier Q300 and Airbus A320 aircraft for the domestic fleet, comes during a period when other businesses have shied away from significant investment in assets. "We firmly believe in the importance of the domestic market and the long-term strength of the New Zealand economy" The first ATR 72-600 aircraft will enter Air New Zealand subsidiary Mount Cook's fleet in mid November. Mount Cook General Manager Sarah Williamson says the new ATRs will allow the airline to further expand its domestic operations with increased frequency and extra capacity as well as to service new ports. "This first aircraft will service Nelson and New Plymouth in addition to the ports where the ATR 72-500 currently flies. Nelson and New Plymouth have both demonstrated recent growth and we're responding by upgrading some services to the larger ATR aircraft. "The flow-on effect of having additional ATR aircraft in Air New Zealand's domestic fleet means we will have the flexibility to up-gauge some Bombardier Q300 and Beech operated routes, as more capacity is required over the coming years, and further stimulate demand in these regions." The new-generation ATR72-600 is the most efficient aircraft in its class and features a new cabin layout in Air New Zealand's latest interior colour palette of chalk and ink, larger overhead bins, and advanced cockpit technology. The new aircraft will enter service for Mt Cook in mid November.

Source : http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/press-release-2012-new-atr-72600-boosts-airnz-domestic-capacity, 31 October 2012

Flight Hauraki's new schedule

 

 

Flight Hauraki now has details of its new service to Whangarei and Kerikeri on its website....

 

 

Pilots ought to have heeded the warnings

 

 

The pilots of an Air New Zealand aircraft landed at Blenheim Airport with broken nose landing gear despite warnings going off that something was not right, investigators say. The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) on Thursday released its report into the September, 2010 landing at Blenheim, which ended with the Bombardier Q300's nose skidding along the tarmac. None of the crew or 43 passengers were injured and aircraft suffered only minor damage. A hydraulic blockage was likely to blame for the nose gear not fully extending, which set off an "unsafe" alert in the cockpit, the TAIC report said. However, after working through a troubleshooting checklist, the pilots, assuming a fault in one of the landing gear sensors, decided to rely on an independent verification system - later found to be unreliable - which falsely showed the landing gear was down. On the final approach the pilots ignored two warning systems that something was wrong. When the aircraft landed the nose gear collapsed into the wheel well and the aeroplane skidded to a halt on the nose landing gear doors. TAIC found the hydraulic blockage was probably behind similar nose landing gear problems in other Q300s in the weeks before the Blenheim landing. It said the pilots ought to have heeded the warnings and abandoned that landing until they were sure whether or not the landing gear was down. When critical systems begin intermittently to malfunction or behave abnormally, this is often a precursor to total failure, it said. "For this reason the diagnosis of these problems should be exhaustive and multifaceted." Air NZ subsidiary Air Nelson and Bombardier took a number of safety actions to ensure it did not happen again, TAIC said.

 

Source : http://nz.totaltravel.yahoo.com/news-opinions/news/a/-/15273395/pilots-ignored-landing-gear-warnings/

 

The full report can be found at : http://www.taic.org.nz/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=pC1zjbBqPB0%3d&tabid=36&mid=613&language=en-NZ

 

A a report on the original incident can be found at : http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4184677/Plane-crash-lands-at-Blenheim-airport 

Friendship Chathams Bound

An old bird made its way out of Timaru’s port this morning bound for brighter shores. The Fokker F27 Friendship, which formerly flew the route between Wellington and the Chatham Islands, will soon have a new home at an aviation museum.  It has been hangered at Christchurch for some time and is being taken in pieces by the MV Baldur to the Chatham Islands Aviation Museum. The aircraft was donated to the museum by Air New Zealand. This section of the fuselage is the last piece to go and expected to reach the island on Saturday where it will be trucked to the museum.

 

A photo of the Friendship can be found at....

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7893914/Final-flight-plain-sailing-for-old-bird

 

though the F27s never operated WLG-CHTs