Air Chathams marks milestone
Air Chathams has celebrated a year of flying between Ka¯ piti and Auckland.
The airline, which undertook its first commercial flight from Ka¯ piti on August 20, 2018, has welcomed over 40,000 passengers on about 1472 flights travelling between Auckland and Paraparaumu over the last 12 months.
Ka¯ piti mayor K Gurunathan said the encouraging statistics were testimony to the value the district placed on a direct flight service through to Auckland.
“It’s clear that Air Chathams is building a strong and loyal customer base that is benefiting from the comfort and convenience of this regional connection.
“Keeping Ka¯ piti connected and accessible through this service strengthens business and family networks and bolsters our visitor economy. Our district’s share of regional and national
Keeping Ka¯ piti connected and accessible through this service strengthens business and family networks and bolsters our visitor economy. K Gurunathan
tourism has been increasing by 10-15 per cent year-on-year over the past three years and this service enables us to continue that momentum.”
Air Chathams general manager Duane Emeny said the airline had received a warm Ka¯ piti welcome and had enjoyed meeting its new customers over the last year.
“We’d like to extend a great big thank you to all our passengers as they’ve journeyed along with us as we’ve found our place on the Ka¯ piti Coast.
“As a family-run business built on our involvement in the communities we serve, we’ve heard first-hand how our service is bringing together friends, families and businesses.
“We think that fits our business goals perfectly.”
In 2018, the council agreed to support Air Chathams through the Fly Ka¯ piti campaign to aid in promoting the service. Council’s $50,000 investment in marketing was supplemented by initial support from Air New Zealand and Ka¯ piti Coast Airport, which offered Air Chathams a free terminal lease for the first year, along with other discounts on operating charges.
Yesterday’s milestone was celebrated with a birthday cake for passengers and key supporters at Ka¯ piti Coast Airport.